




de Me 


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ae 


oe ae Cs hbe te a 


wt, 


“ang. A 
De Cn a 
“ADDRESS, 


BY JOHN W. PROCTOR. 


| Wexcome, friends of Danvers to the land of your birth, and 


of your choice! — 


It gladdens the eat to meet so ) many cheerful countenances 


on this One Hundredth Anniversary of the independent munici- 
os a existence of our town. 


Tas behalf of my fellow-citizens, I bid you all a hearty wel- 
come here. Your presence gives assurance that we have not 


‘mistaken your sympathies with the occasion of our meeting. 


_ Why these thronging crowds in every avenue of the town? 
~ Why has the farmer left his plough,—the tanner his vat,— 


the currier his beam,—the trader his shop,—the shoemaker his 
ae bench, and every one his employment ? 


Why this gathering of thousands of children,—the future 


men and women, to govern and adorn,—and the interest that 


bearns in every expression of their animated countenances ? 

‘Why have our friends from the North, the South, the Last, 
and the West, favored us with their presence ? 

Is it not to/bring to mind the virtues, the toils, the sufferings 
of our fathers? 

“Tt is a privilege to ea what shall be from what has been,— 
to turn experience into Biers 10 view in the marror of the 
past, the vision of the future.” 

The settlement of Salem, early known as Naumkeag, was 
begun by Roger Conant and others, in 1626, and much in- 
creased, in 1628, by the arrival of John Endicott and others, 


all emigrants from ee 


oe ; é oe 


4 


‘ 


It then included Salem, Danvers, Beverly, Marblehead, Wen- 
ham, and parts of Topsfield, Manchester, Lynn, and Middleton, 
bounding northerly by Agawam, southerly by Saugus, westerly 
by Andover, easterly by the Atlantic ocean. Then Saugus, 
Salem, Gloucester, Agawam, and Newbury, extended all along 
the coast of Essex to the Merrimack ; and Andover was the 
only interior town south of that river. | 

Whoever would do justice to the topics beoneie to mind by 
the occasion, should trace the origin of each of the towns that — 
have sprung from Old Naumkeag. 'Time will not now admit 
of this. My purpose is, to pass over the first century of Naum- 
keag, excepting as to the part included in the act of the Legis- 
lature, passed ‘‘ Anno Regni Regis Georgii secundi, &c., vices- 
simor quinto,’’—or, in plain English, the 25th year of George 
the 2d, our then Royal Master,—or Anno Domini, 1752. By 
this, Danvers was set off from Salem, as a distinct municipal 
district, with all the privileges of a town, except that of choos- 
ing representatives to the General Court, which restrictive con- 
dition was taken off by an act passed June 16th, 1757. Upon 
a view of these acts, the town determined to date their inde- — 
pendent corporate existence in the year 1752,—which determi- 
nation we take to be conclusive of the matter. 

Our then Royal Master did I say? By the grace of God, 
and the pleasure of the King, then came all our privileges. I 
know that the generations which have since arisen have but an 
imperfect idea of this obligation to the king, but a grievance it 
was, and so our fathers felt it to be. 

What do we most desire? Is it not independence? In the 
-language of the most gifted mind* of the age, (I say it with 
emphasis on this 16th day of June, A. D. 1852,) when the 
aspirations of millions are turned towards him with anxious 
solicitude, ‘‘ Hail, Independence! Hail, that best gift of God 
to man, saving life and an immortal spirit!’ That Indepen- 
dence, which gave us 


“A Church without a bishop, 
A State without a king.” 


* Daniel Webster, the farmer of Marshfield, Mass. 





NAME OF DANVERS. 


Whence came the name of Danvers? why applied to this 
territory ? are inquiries often made, but never, to my knowledge, 
quite satisfactorily answered. 

For years before the separation, the name Danvers was occa- 
sionally applied to the middle precinct of Salem. Among the 
settlers, prior to the separation, were several by the name of 
Osborne,—a name connected, by marriage, with the Danvers 
family in England. Earl Danvers was one of the regicides, 
the fifth who signed the death-warrant of Charles. Sir Henry 
Danvers, the last of this family, died in 1643, a man of wealth, 
as is to be presumed from his liberal donation of £5000 and 
more for the advancement of learning in the University of Ox- 
ford. It is highly probable, the name of the town was derived 
from this family. This name has one merit,—it is not found 
anywhere else. Mr. Felt, the careful annalist of Salem, thinks 
the name was suggested by Lieut. Gov. Phipps, from gratitude 
to one of his patrons, and refers to a letter that so states the 
fact. It may have been so. But if the people of Danvers were 
then so obedient as to adopt a name because a Governor sug- 
gested it, it is a characteristic that has not remained one of 
their distinguishing qualifications. Few towns have been less 
disposed to follow the lead of any master. This example was 
early set by their file leader, Gov. Endicott. 

If the noble Earl, for whom the name was probably given, 
had anticipated the perpetuity to accrue to his name in this 
humble district of these Western Wilds, and the present wants 
of its High Schools, now sheltered only in hired tenements of 
cast-off chapels, he would, without doubt, have contributed of 
his abundance to the relief of their necessities. 

This era of separation has not been chosen for celebration 
because of the severance. 'Though severed in name, we have 
ever been united in spirit; and though our good old mother, 
Salem, nursed us at her bosom all of one century, she has not 
failed to feed us with pap of -various kinds, ever smce. Some- 
times we have given her sauce in return, but oftener the sub- 
stantials of life. 


6 


Notwithstanding our fathers thought many inconveniences 
would be remedied, and many advantages gained, by being a 
distinet town, as appears by their petition to the General, Court, 
it must be apparent to every reflecting mind that the balance of 
benefits, consequent upon separation, was against us. ‘True, 
being a distinct corporation created a few municipal offices, for 
the gratification of ambitious aspirants; but generally speaking, 
a review of the lives of such office holders will show, that those 
vwho have least, fare best; and those who strive to do most, 
‘instead of receiving benedictions, are usually loaded with the 
opposite. . : 

The petitioners were a scattered population of about 200 
families, containing from twelve to fourteen hundred persons, — 
‘chiefly occupied in the cultivation of the land. Those from 
whom they sought to be separated, were mariners, traders} and 
merchants, densely located, with interests, in some measure, — 
clashing with those on the borders. The busy hum of mechan- 
ical and manufacturing industry had then scarcely begun to be 
‘heard in the village of Brooksby, as the region hereabout was 
‘then called, where the brooks from the hills united with the 
waters of the ocean. i. 

At first, towns assumed to own all the lands within their 
‘limits not specifically | granted. Grants were made, by the 
‘colonial authority, or by towns through the agency of seven ~ 
men, Or selectmen, according to the standing of the grantees, or 
services rendered,—as seats in the church were assigned, first 
to the Captain, then to the Lieutenant, not omitting the H'n- 
sign, and the Corporal. 'Thus the records speak of | 

Captain Samuel Gardner, 

Lieutenant Thomas Putnam, 

Ensign Cornelius T'arbell, 

Corporal Samuel Twist, 

Deacon Malachi Felton, 

Daniel Eppes, E'squire, 
arranged in the order of the consequence of the titles they sev- 
erally mounted. | 

These are referred to as illustrations of the style of the times, 








— | i 


—as our kind friends from the school districts have shown us 
cocked hats, hooped petticoats, and Wie cl shoes, as illustra- 
tions of dress in times gone by.* | 

It was of little consequence what the title was, as Corporal 
Twist said, on his return home after his election, ‘‘if it had the 
rit to it,—so that when the bell tolled at his funeral it could be 
said; Corporal Twist is dead.” 

Who will presume to, say, that, in the term Coisicnc there is 
not as much body, aye soul to, as in that of General ? 


“Worth makes the man, the want of it the fellow.” 


But three instances of colonial grants are known to have been 
made on our territory, viz.:—1. To John Endicott, in 1632 
and 1636; 2. To Samuel Shomipe in 1634; 3. To. John 
ity in 1635. 

The grant to Endicott is thus described. ‘A neck of land 
lying about three myles from Salem, called in the Indian tongue, 
Wahquameschock,” situate between the inlets of the sea, now 
known as Waters River on the south, and Crane River on the 
north, bounding “westerly by the maine land.” Such was the 
precision of early grants. 


* My recollections of the “ge of Homespun,” impresses my mind strongly 
with the propriety of the following passage in a Centennial discourse by Dr. 
Bushnell, at Litchfield, Conn., in August last: —‘* The spinning-wheels of wool 
and flax, ‘that used to buzz so ‘familiarly in the childish ears of some of us, will 
be heard no more forever,—seen no more, in fact, save in the halls of the anti- 
quarian society, where the delicate daughters will be asking what these strange 
machines are, and how they are made to go? The huge hewn-timber looms, 
that used to occupy a room by themselves in the fa*m-houses, will be gone, 
cut up for cord wood perhaps, and their heavy thwack, beating up the woof, 
will be heard no more by the passer-by. The long strips of linen bleaching 
on the grass, and tended by a rosy-cheeked maiden “sprinkling them each hour 
from her water can, under a burning sun, thus to prepare linen for her own 
or her brother’s marriage outfit, will have disappeared, save as they return to 
fill a picture in some novel‘or ballad of the old time.” Who will presume to 
say, that, in these labors of our mothers, will not be found the hidden power 
that gave firmness to the muscles and vigor to the constitutions of their de- 
scendants ? I would give more for the lessons learned on one spinning-wheel, 
or over one milk pail, than those acquired on ten piano fortes. I have often 
thought that girls would profit more by learning to jump over fences or clamber 
ledges, than by dancing polkas, or practising other fashionable amusements,— 
many of which are better calculated to excite the passions, than to improve the 
health of body or mind. There is much propriety in the admonition, “ Lead us 
not into temptaticn.” 


g 


On a beautiful eminence between these rivers, Captain E., 
who, as acting governor, was chief: magistrate of the colony 
“previous to the arrival of Winthrop in 1630, established his 
residerice. The selection of this site speaks favorably of the 
judgment of the man. It would be difficult to find one more 
eligible. For two hundred years at least it remained in the 
Endicott family ; and when the ability of many of those, who 
still bear the name, is considered, it is matter of surprise that 
they should have suffered it to pass from the family. How can 
a man better do honor to himself, than by venerating his ances- 
tors who were worthy of it? I know, our republican notions 
cut across the doctrine of entailments; but still, there is some- 
thing impressive in the contemplation of those venerable 
abodes, in our fatherland, that have remained in the same 
family for centuries. The fortunate possessor, thus advised of 
what his fathers have done, is prompted to endeavor to “go 
and do likewise.” 

From this position, before roads were laid or bridges con- 
structed, the Governor was accustomed to go, in his own 
shallop, to and fromsthe seat of government at Boston, while 
engaged in the government of the colony, either as chief magis- 
trate or as one of the assistants. 

On this orchard farm (so it was called) in front of the man- 
sion about sixty rods, now stands the celebrated E’ndicott pear 
tree, celebrated not so much for the fruit it bears, as for the 
time it has borne it. It is probably the oldest cultivated fruit- 
bearing tree in New England,—itself brought from Old Eng- . 
land,—thereby constituting a direct connecting link with the 
mother country. ‘The fruit is called Bon Chrétien,—whether 
so called from its own merits, or the merits of ‘its owner, I am 
not advised. It is of medium size and fair quality, but not 
quite equal to the Seckel. In 1850; the tree bore one and a 
half bushels of fruit; as I myself witnessed, and new shoots 
grew upon it, more than six inches in length. One thing is 
made certain by this tree, viz., that a pear tree will last two 
hundred years,—how much longer may be told at the next 
Centennial. 





fi 


.On this same Endicott grant, now stands the Parris house (so 
called) from which sprung other fruits* not quite as woithy the 
name of good Christian as the Endicott pear. 

The grant made to Rev. Samuel Skelton,—the spiritual father 
of Endicott, and associate pastor with Higginson, at the First 
Church in Salem,—was situate between Crane and Porter’s 
Rivers, bounding westerly, also, by the “maine land.” So at 
first, these grants to the Captain and the Parson gave them 
a presumptive title to all the town northerly of Waters River. 
This section between Crane and Porter’s Rivers was long 
known as Skelton’s Neck ;—then as New Mills ;—and recently 
as Danvers-port. 

The natural advantages of this part of the town are second 
to none other. Free communication with the ocean by water, 
and with the interior by railroads, its facilities for business are 
first rate. It only needs energy and capital to go ahead. 

— In 1635, a grant was made by the colonial authority to John 
Humphrey, in the westerly part of the town,—whence came: 
the name of Humphrey’s Pond, situate on the line between: 
Danvers and Lynnfield; a beautiful sheet of water, containing 
165 acres, about 100 feet above tide water ;—in the midst of 
which is an island of five acres, on which the first settlers had a 
fortification asa retreat from the Indians. The recent location. 
of a railroad from Salem to Boston, by this pond, has probably: 
laid the foundation of a thrifty village in this vicinity,—as soon: 
as the lands shall pass from the hands of visionary speculators. 
to the control of men of sound, practical common sense. 

December 31, 1638. ‘Agreed and voted, that there should! 
be avillage granted to Mr. Phillips and his company, upon such 
conditions as the seven men appointed for the town affaires: 
should agree on.” Hence -the origin of Salem Village. This 
Mr. Phillips was a clergyman. He did not long abide in the 
place. He removed to Dedham, and thence to England, in 
1642. Probably Putnam, Hutchinson, Goodale, Flint, Need- 
ham, Buxton, Swinnerton, Andrews, Fuller, Walcott, Pope, 


* See the story of the Salem Witchcraft, that follows. 
2 


10. 


Rea, Osborn, Felton, and others, were of the associates in the 
settlement of the village. Their business was farming. Labor 
in the field for stz days of the week, and going to meeting on 
the seventh, was their chief employment. Companions of 
‘Endicott, the puritan principles they imbibed, even to the third 
and fourth generations, bound them to their meeting. He that 
cut the cross from the flag, would not allow his attendants to 
sail under any other banner than such as he chose to hoist, or 
any deviation in their voyage. He was one of those lovers of 
liberty who was not unwilling to engross the largest share of it 
himself. Sure that he was right, he felt it to be his duty to 
see that others acted according to his notions of right. He 
was indulgent to those who were obedient. 

One of the grievances alleged by the petitioners, as a reason 
for separation, was, that their children could not conveniently 
attend school. This was indeed a grievance. Situate four, 
five, and six miles from the school, how could they attend ? 
Early taught by Endicott himself the value of these institutions, 
it is not surprising, when they found the superior advantages 
enjoyed by the children of their fellow townsmen, in part at 
their expense, that complaint should have been made. 

Be it remembered, the first free school in the land, if not in 
the world, was established at Salem. The language of the 
selectmen’s order, by which this was done, is worthy to be 
inscribed on the same tablet with the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. It reads thus :— | ¥.3 

“Sept., 1641. Ordered, that a note be published on next 
Lecture-day, that such as have children to be kept at schoole, 
would bring in their names, and what they will give for one 
whole year; and also that if anie poor bodie hath children, or 
a childe, to be put to schoole, and is not able to pay for their 
schooling, that the towne will pay it by a rate.”’ | 

Here is the seed whence sprung the free schools of -Massa- 
chusetts. It contains the germ of freedom itself. Here it was 
planted, on the orchard farm of the Governor, under his own 
care, as Governor of the Colony, and Chairman of the Select- 
men of Salem. Governors in those days were well employed 


lt 


in looking after the fruits of the field and the children of the 
household ;—the oozings of the still did not then trouble them.* 

In 1634, one of the earliest grants was made to John Putnam 
and his three sons, Thomas, John, and Nathaniel. They came 
from Buckinghamshire, England, settled, cultivated, and peopled 
it. ‘This was situate in the Village Parish, westerly of the 
grants to Skelton and Porter; probably along the line of what 
is now known as Whipple’s Brook, extending from Judge 
Putnam’s Mill to the house of Daniel Putnam,—famous as the 
birth-place of Gen. Israel Putnam, who made his mark on 
Bunker’s Heights, at Charlestown, June 17th, 1775, witnessed 
by Warren, and many others, and sealed with their blood ;—he 
who nobly exclaimed, ‘‘ My sons, scorn to be slaves! ”’ ‘ 

No name is more prominent in the annals of the town than 
that of Putnam. Although hundreds have gone out in all 
directions, still, from the beginning, there has been more of this 
name than any other. By the kindness of Col. Perley Putnam, 
—who has taken unwearied pains to ascertain the facts,—I am 
informed that he has the particulars of between five and six 
hundred families of the name ; many of whom had from fen to 
seventeen children,—amounting in all to 3500 descendants df 
John, in 220 years, an increase worthy of the highest com- 
mendation of Adam Smith, who considers numbers the first of 
all national improvements. If all the settlers had done as well, 
both in quantity and quality, there would have been no occa- 
sion for further importations. I should be glad to notice the 
worthy, particularly ; but if all should be thus noticed, the 
world would scarcely contain the books that would be written. 
I am happy to see so many present, of age and ability, to speak 
for themselves; and from them I hope to hear an account more 
full than is in my power to give. 

Another grant, purporting to be 500 acres, (covering, at least, 


* In Felt’s Annals, (Vol. I, p. 253,) it is stated that William Trask ex- - 
changed with Governor Endicott 250 acres of land for 500 apple trees, from 
his nursery ;—a pretty good bargain, if trees grew then as readily as now. It 
is highly probable that the space between the mansion of the Governor, and 
the bank of the river, in front, was used for the growing of a nursery. I am 
well assured of this fact by S. P. Fowler, Esq., an intelligent cultivator of 
fruit, residing on Skelton’s Neck. 


12 


700,) was made in 1635, to Emanuel, a descendant of Sir 
George Downing, and known as the Downing Estate, (on 
which it was my lot to be born.) ‘This extended southwesterly, 
from the head of Waters River, to what is now known as 
Proctor’s Brook; and in 1701, passed by deed from Charles 
Downing to Benjamin and Thorndike Proctor, sons of John, 
(of 1692 notoriety.) This included the tract of tillage land, 
in times past known as Hog-hill, but recently christened Mount 
Pleasant,—and with great propriety, if fertility of soil and 
beauty of prospect are considerations worthy of this appellation. 

Another grant, of 300 acres, southerly of this, was made 
to Robert Cole,—extending from Gardener’s Bridge to the 
Downing Estate,—which passed through Jacob Reed to Daniel 
Eppes, Esq. On this tract sprung the celebrated E’ppes Sweet- 
ing, better known as the Danvers Winter Sweet; a variety of 
apple more extensively cultivated than any which has originated 
in Massachusetts,—excepting the Baldwin and the Hubbardston 
Nonsuch. This tree stood on land now belonging to the Hon. 
Richard $. Rogers. ‘The original stump is now distinctly to 
be seen, with a sprout from it ten inches in diameter, yielding 
the genuine apple ; clearly indicating the fruit to be natural,— 
not grafted. 'The tree is thrifty and hardy, the fruit excellent; 
as all lovers of apples and milk will cheerfully testify. 

It would be easy to enumerate many other grants of land 
to individuals, all of which would be interesting to those of the 
same name, or to those claiming under them; but my limits 
will not admit of anything more than a specimen of the manner 
of doing the business in olden time. 


WITCHCRAFT DELUSION. 


The events of the year 1692, commonly spoken of as Satem 
WircucraFrt, made an impression so deep on this community, 
that they cannot with propriety be overlooked, in any complete 
motice of the town. More than twenty citizens, some of the 
first respectability, were, in the course of a few months, ar- 
raigned charged with capital offences. Half this number suf- 
fered the severest penalty of the law. For this precinct, con- 


> 


7 . a : 13 


taining. at that time probably not more than five hundred souls, 
to be thus decimated in a few months, was a calamity tremen- 
dously awful. Now-a-days, when one man* is arraigned, tried 
and executed, for good cause, (if there ever can be a good cause 
for execution,) the ‘whole state, as well as states adjoining, are 
agitated to their centre. What could have induced the apathy 
that endured such things then, it is impossible to conceive. 

This moral mania is said to have originated with children, 
under twelve years of age, in the family of the Rev. Samuel 
Parris, of Salem Village. A part of the identical building in 
which Mr. Parris then lived, it is said, now remains, situate 
on the easterly side of the Ipswich road, about twenty rods 
northerly of the Collins house. It then was a part of the par- 
sonage, standing a few rods northwesterly of the village church. 
It should ever remain a monument with this inscription, “‘Obsta 
principis.”’ 

Although this delusion may have begun with children, it was 
not the work of children alone. It is chargeable upon those~of 
an older growth,—upon those whose station in society demand- 
ed from them better things,—clergymen and magistrates. [am 
sensible that I speak plainly of those in authority ; but nothing 
less plain will meet the case. I use the words of “truth and 
soberness.”’ | | 

When these extravagances in the children were first noticed, 
the Doctor was consulted, and gave his opinion “that they 
were under an evil hand.” ‘This,’ says Cotton Mather, 
“the neighbors took up: and concluded they were bewitched.” 
Whether he was a doctor of medicine, of law, or of divinity, 
who gave this opinion, I am not advised. Of the name of the 
doctor, history gives no information,—not even the learned Dr. 
Mather’s Magnalia, which tells all that was true and something 
more. This is certain, the, Reverend gentleman, in whose 
house the malady began, and his associates of the neighbor- 
hood, did very little to suppress the evil; much less than they 
should have done. Says Dr. Mather, “Mr. Parris, seeing the 
condition of his family, desired the presence of some worthy 


* Prof. J. W. Webster, of Cambridge. 


14 


gentlemen of Salem, and some neighbor ministers, to consult 
together at his house ; who when they came, and had inquired 
diligently into the sufferings of the afflicted, concluded they 
were preternatural and feared the hand of Satan was in them.” 
I cannot better express my views, than in the terse language of 
the Rev. Dr. Dwight, President of Yale College, who can never 
be charged with want of proper respect for the clergy. 

Says he, “Had Mr. Parris, instead of listening to the com- 
plaints of the children, and holding days of fasting and prayer, 
on occasions so preposterous, apphed the rod as it should have 
been ; had the magistrates, instead of receiving the complaints, 
arrested the complainants as disturbers of the peace ; or had the 
Judges of the Court quashed the indictments, as founded on the 
baseless fabric of a vision, and discharged the prisoners, the evil 
might have been arrested, in limine. But unhappily these were 
efforts of reason, which lay beyond the spirit of the times.” 

Those who conducted these trials were not only deceived 
themselves, but they were willing to deceive others. They 
were not simply zealous; but they were corruptly furious. 
They introduced testimony, equally at variance with law, with 
common sense, and with the Scriptures. Children incapable of 
any comprehension of the topics about which they were inter- 
rogated, were in some cases the only witnesses. A venerable 
man was found guilty on the testimony-of his own grandchild. 
What is worst of all, the answers desired were put into their 
mouths by the illegal forms of the_questions proposed. 

Time will not admit of a reference to each of the victims of — 
this delusion, that had a home in Danvers. Among them were 
the following :—Rev. George Burroughs, (who himself had 
been a settled minister in the village ;) Giles Corey, and wife ; 
John Proctor, and wife; Rebecca Nourse, George Jacobs, Sarah 
Good, John Willard. Dr. Mather, estimates the whole number 
of arrests, at 100; the whole number exectited, at 19. 

I will briefly advert to a few of the cases as samples of the 
whole ; at the same time must say, that in the examination of 
the trials as preserved, I have not noticed a single error, in con- 
duct or opinion, in those who were accused. On the contrary, 


15 


the more prominent were their virtues the more likely were 
they to be accused ; and the less chance had they for escape. 

In the case of John Proctor, (whose character I feel in duty 
bound to vindicate from all unjust aspersions,) his only fault was 
a kind regard for his wife. When she was arrested and about to 
be.carried to prison, (her health being such as to forbid her being 
imprisoned, ) he insisted upon going with her; whereupon, her 
accusers cried out against him, and he was arraigned also. Dur- 
ing his trial the Rev. C. Mather was in Court, (at the special 
solicitation of the prisoner, see his admirable letter of July 23d, 
1692,) and fearing there might be some hesitation in the minds 
of the jury on account of his well-established character for integ- 
rity and piety, volunteered to testify that he himself had seen his 
Satanic Majesty, the Devil, whispering in the ear of the prisoner, 
while there in Court. 'To every intelligent mind the statement 
of such a fact carries with it its own commentary. The learned 
Doctor must. have had the impulses of his own fears, in the eye 
of his mind, when he presumed to give such testimony ; notto 
speak of the wisdom of the judges, who permitted it to be 
given.* 

In the case of Rebecca Nourse, a sister of the Church, of fair 
character, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty; but the 


* That injustice may not be done to Dr. Mather, whose greatest defect 
seems to have been his egregious vanity, I will quote the views of Mr. C. Rob- 
bins, of Boston, who appears to have examined the part acted by Dr. Mather 
with much kindness and discrimination. ‘That Cotton Mather was enchanted 
in the same spell with the other prominent actors in these tragic events; that 
he was.credulous to a ridiculous extreme; that he was inordinately fond of the 
marvellous; that he was too easily imposed upon; that his intense and undis- 
guised interest in every case of alleged possession, betrayed him into indis- 
cretions, and laid him open to censure; and that he busied himself unneces- 
sarily with the trials, are facts which rest upon indubitable evidence,—are 
blemishes which can never be wiped away from his name. That he was under 
the influence of any bad motives, any sanguinary feelings; that he did not 
verily think he was doing God service, and the devil injury ;—the most careful 
examination has failed to make me believe.” 

Bred as he was of the blood of the Mathers and Cottons for many genera- 
tions ; reverenced as they had been b¥ the people as the elect of God, before 
whom the people bowed at their nod, as was the custom of the times; it is not 
surprising that he assumed to dictate. Humility, in those days, was not an 
indispensable qualification in the character of a Christian minister; on the 
contrary, it was a qualification rarely found in their possession. It is said} “ to 
do all the good he could to all, was his maxim, his study, his labor, his pleasure.” 
(Hist. of 2d Church, Boston, p. 111.) 


16 


combined influence of the populace, the church and the clergy, 
brought about her execution. She was first excommunicated, 
then hung ; the first instance of the application of Lynch Law, 
to be found in the annals of New England. | 

Giles Corey,and Martha his wife, who lived in the western 
part of the town, on’ the estate recently occupied by the Hon. 
Daniel P. King, were accused and suffered death. He was 
eighty years old. His contempt for the entire proceedings was 
such, that he stood mute and refused to plead to the accusa- 
tions. Because he so refused, they undertook to’ press or extort 
an answer from him, and so suffering, he died under the press- 
ure. ‘hus dying, his body was denied a Christian burial, and 
it is said was deposited at the crotch of the roads, near 'T'apley’s 
brook, as was done with the bodies of infamous malefactors. 
This is the only instance of the application of this kind of tor- 
ture, to my knowledge, in this Commonwealth. The idea is 
most forbidding. A grey-headed veteran thus treated, in a 
Christian land, and by those too who professed to have imbibed 
more than’a common share of the spirit of Christ! If such be 
a Christian spirit, how shall the opposite be described? ‘The 
very thought produces a chill of horror. 

George Burroughs, who, for several years, was a pastor of the 
Village Parish, having removed to Portland, where he was re- 
spectably settled in the ministry, was cried out against by his 
enemies, tried, convicted, and executed with the others, August, 
1692, on Gallows Hill. He is entitled to be remembered with 
high regard, as he had the firmness to resist the infatuations 
that overcame the minds of so many of his brethren. Says: 
Mr. Willis, the historian of Portland, “‘there has. nothing sur- 
vived Mr. Burroughs, either in his living or dying, that casts 
any reproach upon his character; and, although he died a viec- 
tim of a fanaticism as wicked and as stupid as any which has 
been countenanced in civilized society, and which at the time 
prejudiced his memory, yet his character stands redeemed in a 
more enlightened age, from any blemish.”’ 

I have sought in vain for the part taken in these trials, by the 
lawyers as such. 'The trials appear to have been carried on before 


17 


a special tribunal, organized for this Pera urpose, partaking 
of the powers of civil and ecclesiastical tribunals, having little 
or no regard to the rules of evidence, or any other proprieties ; 
and thus to have continued, until it broke down under the 
weight of its own extravagances. Messrs. Stoughton, Salton- 
stall, Richards, Gedney, Sewall, Winthrop and Sargent, were 
the seven eminent citizens selected for this purpose. 'They 
were men of high respectability. A special jury was organized 
before which all the cases were brought. 'The depositions and 
affidavits used, show that rules of law were entirely disregarded 
in the trials. A species of infatuation seems to have pervaded 
the minds of all concerned. 'The entire movement, from begin- 
ning to end, was an anomaly most extraordinary. I am not 
unmindful, that trials for like offences had been carried on in 
England, and on the continent of Europe, and that some of the 
purest jurists of the time, had participated in the trials. But 
such was not the fact in regard to the witchcraft of New Eng- 
land. These trials bear no marks of wisdom, and very few of 
honesty of purpose. Perhaps the reason for the appointment of 
a special tribunal for the trial of those accused of witchcraft 
was, that the Provincial Charter did not arrive until May, 1692, 
and no regular court was organized under it, until December 
following. Here then was an interval in which the regular ad- 
ministration of justice was suspended for the want of a proper 
Court ; from which a lesson is to be learned, that such experi- 
ments should not often be repeated. 

But why do we dwell with such abhorrence upon the follies 
of olden time? When in our own times, and almost in our 
own circles, are extravagances, quite as irrational and unintelli- 
gible. 'That there may be phenomena, from natural causes, 
electrical, galvanic, or otherwise, of a character to astonish and 
confound, I will not presume to deny, though I have not wit- 
nessed any such. But that any communications with the 
spirits of the departed, directly or indirectly, have ever been 
had ; or any revelations from them, through any such agencies, 
I do not believe. All such pretences, under whatever name 
they may come, are false and deceptive, and only calculated to 

3 


18 


\ 


mislead. 'They aré to be classed in the same category with 
witchcraft of olden time. : 

I am not unmindful that it is said by high authority, (Exodus 
xxii, 18,) ‘Thou shalt not suffer a watch to live.” 'There are 
many other things said by the same authority, which, in my 
opinion, were not intended Literally to be regarded as rules for 
our guidance, without some qualification of circumstances. 
‘Suppose this rule to be followed, and the idea of a witch, then 
prevalent, to be taken,—what would be the consequence? “A 
witch” is defined, in the Magnalia of the learned Doctor, to be 
“<a person that, having the free use of reason, doth knowingly 
and willingly seek and obtain of the Devil, or any other god 
beside the true God Jehovah, an ability to do or know strange 
things, or things which he cannot by his own human abilities 
arrive unto.’? A witch was supposed to have renounced allegi- 
ance to the true God, and to have promised obedience to the 
Devil. Some of the clergy construed the Scriptures as recog- _ 
nizing the validity of such contracts. Was it strange, then, 
to believe, that the persons supposed to be bewitched were 
moved of the Devil? Were not those who thus taught and 
misled those whom they taught, justly chargeable with the 
blood of the innocent ‘sufferers? I have no respect for the 
agency of the Devil, as he is supposed to have operated in 1692, 
or as he is now operating in 1852; and as to good spirits ope- 
rating through such mediums to instruct and bless mankind, I 
have no faith in it. 

These accusations continued to multiply, until they were 
checked by thelr own extravagance.* The arraignment of 


* Dr. Mather says, (Vol. Il, 413, § 11,) “ By these things you may see how 
this matter was carried on, viz., chiefly by the complaints and accusations of 
the afflicted, bewitched ones, as it was supposed, and then by the confession 
of the accused, condemning themselves and others. Yet experience shewed, 
the more there were apprehended, the more were still afflicted by Satan; and 
the number of confessors increasing, did but increase the number of the ac- 
cused ; and the executing of some, made way for the apprehending of others: 
for still the afflicted complained of being tormented by new objects, as the 
former were removed. At last, it was evidently seen that there must be a stop 
put, or the generation of the children of God would pass under that condemna- 
tion. Henceforth, therefore, the juries generally acquitted such as were tried, 
fearing they had gone too far before >” “ Considering the confusion this mat- 
ter had brought us into, it was thought safer to under do than to over do, espe- 
cially in matters capital, where what is once compleated, cannot be reprieved.” 

% 


19 


Mrs. Hale, wife of the minister of Beverly, and of Mrs. Proctor, 
wife of John Proctor, beforenamed, ladies eminent for their vir- 
tues, opened the eyes of jurors and judges to reflect, that their 
own time might soon come. | ; 

The jurors before whom the accused were tried, with one 
accord, acknowledged their error in acting upon such evidence, 
or rather without any evidence ; and the judges, particularly the 
excellent Chief J. Sewall,* continued to lament their mistakes 
while they lived. ; 

Whether Justices Hawthorne and Corwin, the magistrates 
who conducted the preliminary examinations, ever made the 
amende honorable, does not appear. Perhaps, as they were 
judges of an inferior court only, a correction of errors was not 
deemed an essential part of their duty. This is certain, the 
higher law of common sense gained the ascendency, and false 
interpretations of the laws of Moses were soon in a measure 
corrected. The Devil was deposed. 

I have dwelt long upon this antiquated topic, because justice 
to the memory of those who died without blemish, together 
with the unaccountable propensity of the human mind, even at 
the present time, to give credence to irrational absurdities and 
visionary fancies, forbid my saying less. JI am not insensible 
that my views of the subject are extremely imperfect. Nothing 
less than an entire volume would do justice to it. All the facts 
deserve to be gathered «and chronicled, as a warning to future 
generations. Had not those in high life participated so fully, it 
would, ere this, have been done. ‘ Dog wont eat dog,” is 

“ A maxim true 


As buman wisdom ever drew.” 


REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS. 


Passing over events of a temporary character, let us glance 
for a moment to the period immediately preceding the Revolu- 


* The Hon. Samuel Sewall, afterwards Chief Justice of the Court, and a 
magistrate of sterling integrity, was accustomed annually to ask the prayers of 
the church and congregation at the Old South Church, where he worshipped, 
for the pardon of his offence in the part he took in condemning those charged' 
with witchcraft. He was not so mealy mouthed as some of the present day, who. 
would charge the error entirely to the times, and take no part of it to themselves.. 
Such men would hang witches, or do anything else that expediency might 
prompt. 


20 


tion, when trifles light as air were big with the fate of nations. 
The refusal to use a paper with a government stamp upon it, 
was interpreted treason. The sale of a little tea, for the use of 
the ladies, involved loss of caste and imprisonment. The charge 
of an exorbitant price for a pound of cheese, public posting, by 
order of the town, as faithless to one’s country. 

The seeds of jealousy planted at the time of the granting of 
the Act of Incorporation, whereby the right of representation 
was restricted, were never eradicated. It was not the value of 
the privilege withheld, but the manner in which it was done, 
that excited the indignation of the people. Huis majesty had 
given special instructions that no more towns should be incor- 
porated, with the privilege of choosing their own representatives. 
Our fathers were jealous of their rights, especially when in- 
fringed by the power over the water; and there were those on 
this side of the water who took good care to keep this jealousy 
enkindled. 'The Adamses, the Otises, the Quincys, the Pick- 
erings, were not silent, and did not live in vain in those days. 
The spirit they infused, pervaded every artery of the body 
politic. 

How else could it have happened, that simultaneously, from 
all parts of the State, came up resolutions of similar import. 
Doubtless these resolutions expressed the feelings of the people ; 
but they probably had a common origin. Although messages 
were not then circulated by lightning, or handbills published 
through the dazly press, still, messengers were not wanting, nor 
prompters to tell the people what to say. James Otis, John 
Adams, Joseph Warren, Samuel Adams, Timothy Pickering, 
and many others, were intent on securing the freedom of the | 
colonies. | 

In 1765, it was deliberately resolved, in town-meeting assem- 
bled, ‘‘that the inhabitants were greatly incensed by the burdens 
attempted to be imposed upon the people, and were ready to 
resist to the uttermost.” 

In 1768, Dr. Holten, delegate to a convention holden at 
Faneuil Hall, the cradle of Liberty, in Boston,. was specially 
instructed ‘to look well to the rights of the people.” With 


21 


such marked ability did he then discharge this duty, that he 
thereby laid the foundation for a distinction more prominent, 
and an influence more pervading, than any other citizen ever 
acquired. While he lived, to hesitate to yield assent to the 
opinions of Dr. Holten, was by many deemed political heresy. 
The ardor of his feelings and the purity of his life gave an au- 
thority to his views that could not be resisted.* 
In 1772, Messrs. Wm. Shillaber and others were appointed a 
committee of vigilance. The manner in which their duty was 
discharged shows them to have been a vigilant committee,— 
regulating not only what men should say and do, but what they 
should eat and drink, and what should be paid therefor. If 
those who would reform the manners of the age, as to diet and 
regimen, would seek precedents, they may readily find them in 
the records of those days. Our father$ were a law-abiding 
people,—provided always, they had a voice in the making of 
the laws,—not otherwise. 'They were sensitive and jealous of 
their rights in the extreme. The spirit of Robinson, of Peters, 
of Williams, of Endicott, of Bradstreet, and of Winthrop, per- 
vaded their entire nature. They felt that they were born to be 
Sree, and they suffered no opportunity for securing this privi- 
lege to escape without improvement. 

So marked were these characteristics, that, in 1774, a regi- 
ment of royal troops was quartered on yonder plain, in front of 
the then residence of the Royal Governor Gage,—for, be it 
remembered, that ¢wice in our history was Danvers the res?- 
dence of the royal governors. So ardent was the patriotism 
of the citizens at this time, that it is not improbable the first 
bursting forth of the flame of liberty was here apprehended. 

‘So correctly did they augur coming events, that, in February 
next following, less than two months previous to the battle of 
Lexington, the first onset by the British was aimed at Danvers. 
Col. Leslie, with his regiment, came from Boston for the pur- 
pose of destroying cannon and military stores supposed to be 
deposited at Danvers. Without doubt; such deposits were here. 


* See remarks following, by Rev. J. Warburton Putnam, for a more com- 
plete view of the life and character of this estimable citizen. 


22 


In those days, patriots had to have their eyes open in all direc- 
tions. They had to watch their enemies at home and abroad. 
The tories were on the watch, ready at all times to give in- 
formation of every movement. / 

While Col. Leslie was parleying with parson Barnard an 
others, about crossing the North Bridge in Salem, near the line 
of Danvers, Mr. Richard Skidmore (familiarly known as Old 
Skid) took care to trundle off the cannon, upon the carriages he 
himself had made. So the brave Colonel returned to Boston, 
with his first lesson distinctly conned, that a yankee was not to 
be caught napping. 'This excursion was on the Lord’s day, 
Feb. 26th, 1775. The troops landed at Marblehead, while the 
people were at church in the afternoon, and it is worthy of 
special notice, as the resistance here experienced was the first 
resistance to British arms. As Gov. Kossuth recently happily 
remarked at our own monument, in allusion to this event, ‘“ the 
men of Danvers were ready to fight, and this is quite as good 
as fighting. Would the people of the United States just say to 
the Czar of Russia, what the people of Danvers said to Col. 
Leslie, I think the Czar of Russia would do as Col. Leslie did, 
2o back again, and thus my own beloved Hungary would be 
free.” 

Had it not have been for the pacific wisdom exercised on that 
occasion, by Messrs. Barnard, Pickering and others, Salem 
would have been the theatre on which the first blood for liberty 
would have been shed, and thereby she would have plucked 
the feathers from the caps of Lexington and Concord.* 

The men of Danvers were there. Messrs. Rev. Clergy, 
Wadsworth and Holt, were there seen in the ranks of the mili- 


* Rev. J. W. Hanson, in his History of Danvers, (page 86,) says “ This 
was the first resistance, bloodless indeed, but determineds which was made on 
the part of the people of this country to the encroachment of foreign aggres- 
sion. In the town of Salem, nearly two months before the battle of Lexingt6n, 
the people of Danvers, joined by those of Salem, opposed and beat back the 
foe, and established their title to the quality of determined bravery. But for 
the calmness and discretion of Leslie the English commander, North Bridge, 
at Salem, would have gone ahead of the North Bridge at Concord, and Salem 
itself have taken the place of Lexington; and February 26th would have 
stood forever memorable in the annals of the Republic. The British under 
Leslie numbered 140, The Americans under Pickering numbered 50.” 


23 


tia, with their guns ready for battle, under the command of the 
brave Samuel Eppes. When the alarm was sounded, the ser- 
mon was cut off, and the concluding prayer, with the doxology, 
were deferred to a more convenient season. Then, men not 
only slept upon their arms, but carried them to meeting. The 
best of men were ready to fight. All were soldiers,—none too 
good for service. Their country’s rights, not their own aggran- 
dizement, were the objects for which they watched without 
ceasing. 


BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. 


Thus continued the town, in a state of constant preparation 
and alarm, until the morning of April 19th, 1775, an era most 
_marked in the annals of Danvers. Then, every man capable 
of bearing arms, from the stripling of sixteen to the veteran of 
sixty years, was seen trotting at the rate of four miles an hour, 
to the field of duty and of glory,—with what effect, the return- 
ing wagons on the following day, loaded with the dead and- 
wounded, too plainly told. Seven of the young men of Dan- 
vers, whose names are registered on yonder monument of gran- 
ite, quarried in our own hills, the corner stone of which was 
laid by Gen. Gideon Foster, their commander, on the sixtieth 
anniversary, then became entitled to the inscription, “ Dulce et 
decorum est, pro patria mori.” As many more received marks 
of distinction from the enemy, that they carried with them to 
their graves. | 

Think of it, my friends! Suppose your father, son, or 
brother, one or all, as was the case with some families at that 
time, to have been thus exposed, when the distant thunder of 
conflicting arms came echoing over the hills, and the lightning 
flash of artillery illumined the western horizon, you will be able 
to appreciate the price paid by your fathers for the liberties you 
now enjoy. 

The impulse given at Lexington was never suspended. The 
funeral knell of those, whose lives were thus sacrificed, constantly 
resounded in the ear. Asa specimen of the feeling that then 
pervaded the entire community, I beg leave to recite an anec- 


24 


2» ; 
dote of an event that occurred on that morning, which IT had 
from the Colonel himself, and therefore it may not be ques- 
tioned.* 


BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 


On the 17th of June, next following, (a morning not unlike 
the present, when the grass was waving in abundance on the 
plains, ) Captains Foster, Flint, Page, Porter, and others of Dan- 
vers, were found in the post of danger, at the bloody ramparts 
of Bunker Hill, under Gen. Putnam, the commander,—himself 
of Danvers. There they stood, shoulder to shoulder, side by 
side, with Warren, Stark and Prescott, the motto of Patrick 
Henry on their helmets, colors not to be mistaken, ‘“‘ Give us 
Liberty, or give us Death!” 

Shall it be said, my friends, that Danvers did nothing towards 
securing our freedom ?—Danvers, that poured out her best blood 
in the midst of the fight? of one, who had rather die than stoop, 
though cautioned to do so,—one, who, when questioned where 
he should be on the day of battle, replied, ‘Where the Enemy is 
there you will find me!”’ All who know our country’s history 
must be aware that I refer to the brave Captain Samuel Flint, 
who fell fighting, sword in hand, on the mounds of Bennington, 
in the prime of life and vigor of manhood; leaving descendants, 
whose highest pleasure it should be to imitate the patriotism of 
their grandfather, and the amiable virtues of their father,—the 
late Hon. D. P. King. \ 

On the 18th of June, 1776, it was voted, in town meeting, 
‘if the Honorable Congress, for the safety of the United States, 


* When the troops from Salem, under the command of Col. Timothy Pick- 
ering, were on their way to meet the enemy, (the Danvers companies having 
started ahead by permission,) they halted at the Bell Tavern, now Monument, 
to arrange their places; and while thus stopping, Hasket Derby, one of the 
soldiers, stepped into friend Southwick’s, the house opposite, with whom he 
was acquainted, where Mrs. Southwick said to him, Friend Derby, thee knows 
that my principles will not allow me to do anything to encourage war; but as 
there is a long and tedious march before thee, and thee and those with thee 
may be in need of refreshment, this batch of bread, just taken from the oven, 
thee may take, if thee please,—/or tt never can be wrong to feed the hungry. 
And she put into his knapsack a cheese also. The same facts have been 
affirmed to me by herson Edward, who, with the soldier from Salem, lived to 
be men of the greatest wealth and influence in their respective towns. . 


25 


declare them independent of the kingdom of Great Britain,— 
we, the inhabitants of Danvers, do solemnly pledge our lives 
and fortunes to support them in the measure,’’—language 
smelling strongly of the Declaration made at Philadelphia, on 
the 4th of July next following ;—which Declaration was unan- 
' tmously approved by vote, and ordered to be entered, at length, 
in the records of the town. Yes, there it is, my friends, in 
bold relief, on the page,—for the instruction of future genera- 
tions. This little incident speaks volumes of the feelings that 
pervaded the minds of the community. This little town, with 
less than two thousand inhabitants, thus ratifying the doings 
' of a nation, and taking upon itself the responsibility. The 
spirit of Holten, of Foster, of Hutchinson, of Shillaber, and 
their compatriots, is apparent in this thing. When such a feel- 
ing prevails, victory or death must follow. No compromise is 
admissible. No tory spirit was found here. While these men 
lived, there was no doubt where Danvers would be found. 
Her sons have every reason to be proud of the patriotic spirit 
and determined purpose of their sires. The names of many 
brave men are conspicuous in her annals. Let their sons, to 
the latest generation, see to it, that a reputation so nobly earned 
shall never be tarnished. 


REVOLUTIONARY HEROES. 


On the page of history that shall mark the efforts of Danvers 
in the Revolutionary struggle for Independence, will be found 
the names of— 

Gen. Israel Putnam, 
Gen. Gideon Foster, 
Gen. Moses Porter, 
Col. Jeremiah Page, 
Col. Israel Hutchinson, 
Col. Enoch Putnam, 
Major Caleb Lowe, 
Major Sylvester Osborn, 
Capt. Samuel Eppes, 
Capt. Samuel Flint, 


26 


Capt. Jeremiah Putnam, 

Capt. Samuel Page, 

Capt. Dennison Wallis, 

Capt. Levi Preston, 

Mr. William Shillaber, 

Dr. Amos Putnam, 

Dr. Samuel Holten, 

Capt. Johnson Proctor, (my father, ) 
the last survivor of the revolutionary worthies, who died No- 
vember 11, 1851, aged 86. A class of men worthy of the 
cause they so ably defended. They were none of your milk- 
and-water heroes; salt pork and bean porridge constituted the 
basis of their. diet.* ks 


AGE OF SOLDIERS. 


It is interesting to notice the extraordinary length of lives 
attained by these patriots. Of those named, their average ages 
exceeded 80 years. What could have so extended their lives 
ten years beyond the period ordinarily allotted to man? This 
is an inquiry of much interest. It could not have been quiet, 
and freedom from exposure,—for none were more exposed. 
The incidents of the soldier’s life, under circumstances most 
favorable, have little to charm or amuse ; but the Revolutionary 
Soldiers, half clad and half starved, as they often were, must 
have lived on something not fully appreciated, to hold out as 
they did. May it not in part be attributed to their energy and 
activity of movement in early years? to that buoyancy and 
cheerfulness of spirits that naturally flow from such movements? 
Who has not witnessed the animation with which the old 
soldier adverts to the perils of “his youth, and 


“Shoulders his crutch to show how fields are won” ? 


Who will presume to say that cheerful spirits do not essentially 
contribute to the prolongation of life? 


* There are many others, “good men and true,” who did much service, with 
equal energy and patriotism, but who were content with being brave, without 
any proclamation made of it. Those who float readily on the top, have not 
always the most solidity. 


27 


CENTENNARIANS. 


But two instances, within the limits of the town, of persons 
living to the age of one hundred years, have come to my 
knowledge. 'These were both soldiers, who had seen much 
service in many wars. 

The first was Thomas Nelson, a native of Scotland, who 
died in 1774, at the age of 113 years. 

. The second was Lemuel Winchester, a native of Brookline, 
Massachusetts, who died in 1844, at the age of 100 years 8 
months and 5 days. , 

Of father Nelson, I have heard my grandmother say, (who 
herself lived to be almost one hundred,) that when he was 
more than one hundred, he often walked from his residence to 
Salem, six miles, as upright as any young man. | 

Both of these gentlemen possessed cheerful dispositions and 
active habits. Both of them were free from those excesses so 
common to the age in which they lived, though probably not 
tee-totallers,—a description of beings that were not common in 
revolutionary times. il i 

How important then, to those who would possess health and 
long life, to imitate their example in the cultivation of habits 
of activity, temperance and cheerfulness. It was remarked by 
Lord Mansfield, one of the most sagacious of men, that he 
never knew an instance of a person living to extreme old age 
who did not rise early ; and he might have added, who did not 
live temperate. ‘Temperance and activity are the corner stones 
of health and usefulness. 


RELIGIOUS WORSHIP. 


The first settlers of Salem were Puritans. 'They were men 
who aimed to be governed by the impulses of their own con- 
sciences, and to keep themselves void of offence.* Such were 
Endicott and his associates when they came to Salem. Ido 


* In the language of Governor Bradford, when a young man, ‘ To keep a 
good conscience, and walk in such a way as God hath prescribed in his Word, 
is a thing which I much prefer before you all, and above life itself.” 


28 


i 


not presume to say they were without blemish,—the sun has 
spots,—but “their faults leaned to virtue’s side.” ‘They had 
more of merit in them than many men’s virtues. Thus moved 
by a faith that gives dignity to man,—purity to woman,—and 
loveliness to the child,—it would have been strange indeed if 
they had neglected to provide all needful ‘accommodations for 
the worship of God. As early as 1666, the farmers of the 
village were incorporated into a society for religious worship. 
This was the Second Parish in Salem. Parish privileges and 
rights of citizens were then essentially connected. No man 
could exercise the rights of a citizen who did not belong to the 
Church. In the meetings of the Church, matters of business 
were moulded as much as they now are in caucus assembled. 

The first thirty years of the Village Parish covers that period 
when the witch delusion and other controversies were agitated 
to such extent that little may be said of the religious influences 
then prevalent,—if regard be paid to the text, “‘By their fruits 
shall ye know them.” | 

In 1697, Rev. Joseph Green became the pastor of this society, 
and so continued for a period of eighteen years. He died 
among his people, universally beloved and respected. He must 
have been a very good man to have lived and died as he did, 
at such a time, surrounded with such influences. 

He was succeeded by Rev. Peter Clark, who continued to 
minister until all those who settled him had left the stage; a 
period of more than fifty years. His funeral discourse was 
preached June 16, 1768, by Rev. Thomas Barnard, of Salem. 
Such permanency in the ministry speaks well of pastor and 
people ;—and is in accordance with our best ‘New England 
notions. I know that many have grown up of late who think 
they know more than their fathers did,—but I have heard it 
said old Doctor Clark once said to his son Caleb, ‘‘Caleb! is 
there no nearer way to Heaven than round by Chebacco?”— 
meaning thereby to reprove the new light influences then 
prevalent. So in modern times, many are not content to pursue 
the good old way to Heaven, but want to go by steam; when 
they start thus, there is danger of bursting the boiler. 


29 


Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth succeeded Mr. Clark, and minis- 
tered unto this people for more than fifty years. My first 
Impressions of a model minister were taken from this gentleman 
when a boy at school. Subsequently, when an older boy, 
myself attempting ‘to teach the young idea how to shoot,” I 
had the pleasure of a more intimate acquaintance, which con- 
firmed my first impressions. He was a gentleman, in the best 
sense of the term. He knew what to say, and when to say it. 
He too lived a long life harmoniously with his people, and died 
beloved and respected. What Christian minister can ask a 
better eulogy? Who that remembers the words of wisdom 
that fell from the lips of these venerable men, will fail to 
rejoice at their good fortune in being thus instructed? I know 
of nothing that savors more of Heaven, than lessons of instruc- 
tion from a virtuous, modest, wise old minister. Very few 
societies can render so good an account of their stewardship. 

Since the decease of Dr. Wadsworth, the increase of popula- 
tion has been such as to demand a division, and two societies ~ 
are now sustained on the old foundation. Of the living, I 
forbear to speak, well knowing that the sound of their own 
voices will be their highest encomium. They are favorably es- 
~ teemed wherever learning or piety is regarded. 

The inhabitants of the southerly part of the town worshiped 
with the First Church in Salem, until 1710, when a new soci- 
ety was incorporated, under the name of the Middle Precinct 
Parish. This was the Third Parish in Salem. Their first effort 
was, to obtain from the town, a grant of ‘‘a quarter of an acre 
of land to set a meeting-house on.’”’ This was so located, that, 
in process of time, it expanded to more than an acre. Whether 
fortunately, or not, involves too many incidents to admit of 
discussion on this occasion. 

In 1713, Rev. Benjamin Prescott was settled as pastor over 
this parish, and remained such for a period of forty years. 
His pastoral relations were closed in 1752, (the year of the sep- 
aration from Salem,) in consequence of contentions that had 
arisen about the collection and payment of his salary. There 
were, within the parish, Quakers and others, who thought they 


30 


could not conscientiously pay for such preaching. 'The laws 
had no regard to scruples of conscience of such a character. 
After the dissolution of his pastoral relations, Mr. Prescott con- 
tinued to reside in the parish, a worthy citizen and magis- 
trate, dying in good old age, respected for his talents and 
virtues, and was buried at the foot of the hill bearing his name. 

A shrewd observer, with much experience in ministerial 
affairs, remarked, in relation to Mr. Prescott’s ministry, ‘‘ When 
a minister and people cannot get along without quarrelling 
about his salary, it is better for both that the connection should 
be dissolved. God and Mammon cannot peaceably occupy the 
same tenement.” 

The Rev. Nathan Holt succeeded Mr. Prescott, and minis- 
tered with good fidelity for a period of thirty-four years. He 
was a peaceable, clever man,—deeply imbued with the patriotic 
spirit of the times. Of his services in the pulpit, I have heard 
but little. His labors among his people were highly prized, 
and productive of a happy influence. ‘He was an Israelite 
indeed, in whom there was no guile.” 

Rev. Samuel Mead followed Mr. Holt, and was pastor about 
ten years. 'The record of this period is lost; it is not safe, 
therefore, to speak, where the best evidence 7s wanting. I 
remember him well. His peculiarities were many. 

In 1805, the Rev. Samuel Walker was settled, and remained 
the pastor for a period of twenty-one years. His life was termi- 
nated by a painful casualty. He was faithful to his calling, 
discreet in his movements, and died with a kind remembrance 
in many a bosom. Since his death, a Unitarian, a Methodist, 
a Baptist, and a Universalist society have grown up in the par- 
ish, and flourished with various degrees of success, leaving the 
Old South Society still one of the largest and ablest in the 
county. 

For a few years they were ministered unto by the Rev. 
George Cowles, who, while on his way south with his lady, in 
search of health, was suddenly lost on board the steamer Home, 
dying with these last words, “ He that trusteth in Jesus is safe, 
even among the perils of the sea.’”’ He died deeply lamented, 


di 


having previously resigned his pastoral care on account of ill 
health. | 

The Rev. H. G. Park followed for a short time. 

The Rev. Thomas P. Field succeeded Mr. Park for a period ° 
of ten years, laboring successfully to a harmonious and happy 
‘ people,—which labors were unfortunately interrupted by his 
being called to a position of more extended usefulness at Troy, 
N. Y., with the offer of a compensation better proportioned to 
the worth of his services. When it was too late, the people 
saw their error. The ‘disappointment experienced in parting 
with one so highly esteemed, with no appreciable reason as- 
signed therefor, poorly prepared the way to treat with kindness 
and Christian sympathy his successor, the Rev. James D. Butler, 
who, after a conditional settlement of one year, was crowded off, 
without ceremony. May his eminent learning and Christian 
humility command a position in which they will be duly appre- 
ciated. | 

Several other religious societies have grown up* in different ~ 
parts of the town, and been sustained with varied success. A 
Baptist society was organized at the New Mills Village, under 
the pastoral care of Rev. Benj. Foster, sixty-eight years since. 
The present pastor, Rev. A. W. Chapin. There is also a Uni- 
versalist society in that neighborhood, which was organized 
thirty-seven years since, now under the pastoral care of the 
Rev. J. W. Putnam. 

Within my memory, four valuable churches have been de- 
stroyed by fire, probably caused by incendiaries. One offender 
only has been brought to justice, and he under his own con- 
fession. 

Within the last twelve years, there has been expended in the 
construction and finish of churches, more than $50,000. 

The present annual payments within the town, for the sup- 
port of religious instruction, cannot be estimated at less than 
$10,000. | 

The predominant faith at the present time, (exclusive of those 
who have no faith at all,) is a modified version of the notions 
of the Puritan Fathers of New England ;—how far improved 


32 


by the modification, must be left to the better judgment of those 
who have really experienced its purifying influences. ‘That 
there may be such, I cannot doubt,—but something more than 
mere profession of religion is wanted, to satisfy my mind. I 
incline to the belief, that his faith cannot be wrong whose life 
is right. And where the life does not illustrate and adorn the 
profession, the profession will be found “a sounding brass and 
tinkling cymbal.” 


EDUCATION. 


Popular education, in the broadest sense of the term, has en- 
grossed the attention of the people of Danvers as much as any 
other topic. From the time of their first meeting, March 4th, 
1752, when Daniel Eppes, father and son, were moderator and 
clerk, each year’s record shows more or less of interest in the 
education of the rising generation. 

Previous to the separation, but little attention had been given 
to supporting schools for the children on the borders. 

In 1783, when revolutionary troubles had subsided, the peo- 
ple began to look after the condition of the schools. 

In 1793, an interesting report on the reorganization of the 
schools was made to the town, by Dr. Archelaus Putnam, which 
appears in full upon the records,—a fact worthy of notice, be- 
cause many a report, placed on file only, is not now to be found. 
Files that are handled by every body, soon become every 
body’s property. 

In 1794, pursuant to a plan proposed by Gideon Foster, 
Samuel Page, and John Kettelle, the town was divided into 
districts. | 

In.1802, the districts were remodelled, at the suggestion of 
Sylvester Osborn. ‘Thus we find Holten, Foster, Page, Osborn, 
and others, who were foremost in their efforts to secure our 
rights, going ahead in their endeavors to educate the children 
to understand those rights. 

In 1809, the present system of school districts was estab- 
lished,—then nine, now fourteen ;—then containing 800 chil- 
dren, now more than 2000, of age suitable to attend school. 


33 


It is not easy to understand how schools were supported as 
well as they were, with the limited appropriations then made. 
Masters must have taught for the love of teaching, and children 
studied for the sake of learning. The days of study, and not 
the days of vacation, must then have been their seasons of 
* amusement. 

In 1814, an order was adopted requiring a report of the 
condition of the schools, for the year next preceding, to be 
made at the annual meeting in each year. 'Phis is worthy of 
notice, it having become a State regulation since. 

In 1820, an order was adopted requiring the names and ages 
' of children between four and sixteen years, resident in town 
on the first day of May, to be returned by the prudential com- 
mittees, and recorded by the clerk. 'This also was in advance 
of the action of the State to the same effect. Both of these 
regulations have been found highly serviceable. 

The money appropriated for the support of schools has since , 
been apportioned to the several districts in proportion to the 
children thus returned, with donations to the districts containing 
a sparse population, to equalize the advantages of schooling as 
far as practicable. 

High schools have recently been established with good 
success. ‘The present year, a new plan of superintendence has 
been ordered and entered upon with high expectation of ben- 
efit. It remains with the person who fills the office whether 
these expectations shall be realized. ‘The superintendent enters . 
upon the duties this day. I cannot doubt the efficiency of 
individual superintendence when regulated by competent ability, 
with a single eye to the advancement of the schools. 

The predominant feeling has long been, that it is the bounden 
duty of the town to carry out the free-school principle first 
proposed by Endicott, viz,—to provide for the complete education 
of all the children, at the public charge, in such manner as 
their condition in society demands. 

In this way alone can it be explained that Danvers has edu- 
cated so small a proportion of her sons at colleges, according to 
her wealth and population. On looking over the list of natives 

5 


34 


of the town who have had the benefit of a collegiate education, 
for one hundred years last past, I find six clergymen, three law- 
yers, two physicians, five farmers, and two others,—in all, 
twenty ;—a number much less than will be. found in many 
towns with one half the population.* 1 speak of the fact as 
presenting considerations worthy of reflection, and not because 
I deem such an education an essential qualification to good citi- 
zenship. Instance the success of Franklin, of Washington, of 
our own Bowditch, to the contrary. The truth is, the people of 
Danvers have been anxious to realize a more speedy income on 
their investments than is ordinarily found by trimming the mid- 
night lamp. As a general thing, they value objects in possession 
more than those in expectancy; their faith is not strong enough 
to sustain the hope of distinction by means of literary efforts. 

An elaborate attempt to abolish the district system of schools 
was made in 1850, but the people were not prepared to give up 
what they deemed a certainty for an uncertainty. 


* CottecE GrapuaTtes.—Names of natives of Danvers, who have been 
educated at Collegiate Institutions :-— 


F. *Daniel Putnam, Harv. 1717. 
F. *James Putnam, Harv. 1746. 
T. *Daniel Eppes, Harv. 1758. 
F. *Tarrant Putnam, ° Harv. 1763. 
- P. *Archelaus Putnam, Harv. 1763. 
L. Samuel Putnam, Harv. 1787. 
T. *Israel Andrew, Harv. 1789. 
C. William P. Page, Harv. 1809. 
C. Israel Warburton Putnam, Dart. 1809. 
C. Daniel Poor, Dart. 1811. 
L. John W. Proctor, Harv. 1816. 
C. Ebenezer Poor, Dart. 1818. 
L. *William Oakes, Harv. 1820. 
P. John Marsh, Harv. 1823. 
F. , *Daniel P. King, Harv. 1823. 
C. Allen Putnam, Harv. 1825. 
F. Samuel P. C. King, Amherst. 1831. 
C. Ezekiel Marsh, Yale. 1839. 
*Augustus E. Daniels, Harv. 1846. 
*Thomas Stimpson, Amherst. 1850. 


6 of the above became clergymen; 3, lawyers; 2, teachers; 5, farmers; 
2, physicians; 2, occupation not yet determined. 

Ten have deceased; ten now living. 

F. Farmer; C. Clergyman; P. Physician; L. Lawyer; T. Teacher. 

Several other citizens have engaged in professional employments, without 
the aid of collegiate instruction. Several are now preparing for such employ- 


ments. ; 


30 


SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS. 


There is no town in the county where the appropriations for 
schools are more liberal, in proportion to the number to be 

educated and the ability to pay. Mr. Webster, in his late speech 
~ at Faneuil Hall, says it is the glory of Boston that she applies 
one quarter part of all the taxes assessed, for the support of 
public schools, viz., $50,000 out of $200,000,—there being a 
population of 140,000. Danvers applies $10,000 out of $25,- 
000,—there being a population of 8000. Danvers has a valua- 
_ tion of $3,000,000,—Boston, $300,000,000. Here is a question 
for boys at school to answer, which of these places does best 
for the support of public schools, according to its ability? 

If the schools of Danvers are not advanced in proportion to 
their appropriation, the defect is not chargeable to the mass of 
the inhabitants,—their will is to have first rate free schools. 


SCHOOL FUNDS. 


The wisdom of the town in applying the surplus revenue, 
that came to their use in 1844, as a permanent fund for the 
benefit of schools, over and above a prescribed sum of not less 
than three dollars per scholar, to be raised by the town annually 
for this purpose, must not be overlooked. This fund now 
amounts to the sum of $10,000, and is invested in the hands of 
trustees chosen by the town. Considering the many jealousies 
brought to bear on this topic, the act whereby the investment 
was made will ever remain most creditable to the town. No 
man did more to bring this about than the late Elias Putnam, 
who in this, as in all his other public services, showed himself 
a vigilant friend of the best interests of the town. Danvers — 
will long mourn his departure in the midst of his usefulness. 
He was a man of marked energy and decision of .character. 
Selfish to some extent,—for who is not,—but public spirited, 
far beyond most of those around him. ‘Those who knew him 
-best, valued him highest. It was often my privilege, as on 
this subject, to codperate in the objects he had in view. I knew 
him well. * is 


36 


WALLIS FUND. 


By the generosity of Capt. Dennison Wallis, who died in 
1825, a local fund of $2500 was established for the benefit of 
School District No. 1, in which he then lived. He intended 
the fund should have been $5000, but the phraseology of the 
will so far fell short of the intentions of the donor, when tried 
in the crucible of the Supreme Court, as to reduce the amount 
one half. 

With this fund, the Wallis School, for the education of chil- 
dren between the ages of six and twelve years, has been estab- 
lished, and sustained for twenty years. If the spirit of the 
donor could look down upon the cheerful countenances of the 
happy group of children, educated by his bounty, on one of 
their days of successful exhibition, it would discover abundant 
reason for rejoicing in the wisdom of the donation. Happy 
spirit that! which can contemplate a life of toil and perplexity 
terminated so gloriously. When another century shall have 
passed away, who will be remembered with more admiration 
than he who laid the foundation of the Wallis School? Al- 
though his name may not live in the offspring of his owr® loins, . 
it shall be immortal in the benefits conferred on thousands. 
This crowning act of his life will be cherished with gratitude, 
even when his heroic exposure at Lexington shall be forgotten. 


SUPPORT OF PAUPERS. 


As a municipal regulation, next in importance to the educa- 
tion of the young, is the support of the unfortunate poor. By 
the record of the first meeting, it appears that both these sub- 
jects were provided for. Still, no well-established system of 
relief to the poor was adopted, until about the year 1800, when 
the attention of friends E. Southwick and 8. Shove, moved by 
the combined considerations of economy and humanity, were 
directed to this subject. ‘To the credit of these gentlemen, be 
it said, notwithstanding they belonged to a-class of Christians 
whose sense of religious duty will not suffer any of their num- 
ber to be a charge upon the public, that they did more to alle- 


37 


viate the condition of the paupers, as well as to relieve the 
town from the expense of their support, than has been done by 
any others. ‘Their shrewd observation discerned, what was 
not then generally known, that almshouse establishments, with 
conveniences for industrial employments connected therewith, 


adapted to the capacities of the inmates, were the true means 


of benefiting their condition ;—that by thus being employed, 
they would be saved from many a temptation incident to their 
humiliated position, and the burden of their sagen. would be 
greatly diminished. 

At this time a house, with about a dozen acres of land ap- 
purtenant, was appropriated to this use. But it was soon found 
that the locality of the establishment was too central, for the 
convenience of those around ; and that the growing wants of the 
village demanded its removal. Accordingly, it was transferred 
to the extensive*farm of two hundred acres now occupied, then 
chiefty covered with wood. The selection of this site, although , 
censured by many at the time, shows the superior discernment 
of those who chose it. It is airy, healthy, and easy of access, 
and readily made a secure abode, far removed from evil com- 
munications, and evil spirits also. Whoever would deal with 
paupers, must prepare to guard against the influence of such 
spirits with eagle eyes. 

The rival efforts of these gentlemen, (Messrs. Southwick and 
Shove,) to see which could owt-do the other in saving for the 
town, and the suggestions made by them, from time to time, in 
their annual reports, will ever be interesting features for exami- 
nation. ‘They were, in fact, a sort of Quaker duel, in which 
no. blood was shed,—although occasionally one would say to 
the other, ‘“ Thee lies, thee knows thee lies, under a mistake.” 
During their administration of this department, the State allowed 
twenty-one cents per day for the support of paupers, instead of 
seven, the present allowance ; which materially aided in bal- 
ancing their accounts. 3 

ALMSHOUSE. 


The present almshouse, with the farm and its appendages, 
cost $25,000. It was erected in 1844. The town was moved 


38 


‘to its erection, by the admonitions of Miss D. Dix, of Boston, 
whose generous philanthropy has done so much for suffering 
humanity. There were those who thought her officious, mis- 
informed as to the facts she stated, and disposed to meddle with 
that which did not concern her. I know there were such. But 
even those will now cheerfully acknowledge, that she was 
actuated by good motives; and that she did the town a service, 
for which she ought ever to be held in grateful remembrance. 
Noble soul! that looks around and sees how many tears of 
suffering she has dried up, and how many pangs of distress she 
has alleviated. Her own reflections are a heavenly reward. 
May her shadow never be less. 

There is no town in the Commonwealth where the unfortu- 
nate poor are regarded with more sympathy and kindness. 
Every rational movement for their benefit has always met a 
cheerful approval by the town. Care is takén to secure the 
services of intelligent and humane overseers, and the establish- 
ment entire is a model worthy of imitation. 

A careful analysis of the concerns of this department for fifty 
years last past, will show, that at least three fourths of all those 
who have received relief at the almshouse, have been brought 
to this necessity by reason of intemperance, notwithstanding 
the unremitted efforts of the town to stay the devastations of 
this debasing vice,—this inexhaustible fountain of suffermg and 
of crime. May God grant a safe deliverance from it, even 
though it should involve the total annihilation of all that intox- 
tcates. 

TEMPERANCE. 

In the efforts that have been made to advance the cause of 
temperance, for the last forty years, Danvers has taken no mean 
position. During all this period, many of her best citizens have 
been actively codéperating with the best friends of the cause. 

As early as 1812, Samuel Holten, Benjamin Wadsworth, 
Edward Southwick, Fitch Poole, Caleb Oakes, and others, were 
pioneers in this enterprise. They dared to say, even then, 
when it was almost the universal practice to “take a little for 
the stomach’s sake and often infirmities,” that “the use of 


39 


intoxicating liquors, as a beveruge, was an evil, and only evil 
continually.” It is glorious to find these experienced, upright, 
and keen observers of human nature, putting forth the doctrine _ 
that total abstinence, from everything that intoxicates, is “the 
only sure guide,” the only principle that can be depended upon. 
What the zealous friends of law (Massachusetts law, may I 
say?) have recently discovered, they seem to have known by 
instinct. They preached temperance, and they practised what 
they preached. Without which, on any subject, preaching is 
“a tinkling cymbal,’”’—an “ empty show.” | 
Danvers was the first town that took action, in its corporate 
capacity, against licensing the retail of intoxicating liquors. 
The motion, (to my certain knowledge,) was drafted in pencil, 
at the Village Church, and presented at the annual meeting, 
1835, by S. P. Fowler, Esq. ‘To the credit of the town, its 
authorities have constantly adhered to the faith then promul- 
gated. Not so with all the authorities in towns around,—and 
hence has flowed misery and crime. Since 1835, there has 
annually been appointed a committee, to watch the progress of 
the cause, and to advance its success. What Maine now is to 
other states, Danvers has been to other towns, a beacon light on 
the eminence of Temperance. May its effulgence be strength- 
ened, until the path of duty shall be, as cllwminated. by the 
noonday sun. 


BUSINESS. FARMING. 


Attention to business has ever been a prominent trait in the 
character of the people of Danvers. For many years, the cul- 
tivation of the land was their chief employment. ‘Throughout 
the early records, they are spoken of as the farmers, in contrast 
with those engaged in commercial pursuits, for which Salem 
has been eminent from the beginning. ‘Among the farmers 
best known, will be found the names of Putnam, Preston, Proc- 
tor, Felton, and, King. ‘Their fields have exhibited samples of 
cultivation that will compare with any in the Commonwealth. 
They have stirred their soil deep, and aimed to understand the 
reason for so doing. The town affords every variety of soil, 


40 


from very strong to very shallow. The lands require much 
labor, and unremitted attention to the application of invigorating 
substances. As the population has increased, their labors have 
been concentrated ; and it would not be difficult to point out 
those who raise as much, and live as well, from the products of 
ten acres, as did those before them from the products of one 
hundred acres. I forbear to dilate. The story of their farm- 
ing has often been told, and can be better told elsewhere. 


TANNING. 


About one hundred years ago, friend Joseph Southwick com- 
menced the business of tanning, ina few tubs or half hogs- 
heads. 'This business has since so expanded, that it now occu- 
pies as many thousand vats. It is the staple business of the 
place. For many years, it was carried on chiefly by Messrs. 
Southwick, Shove, Wallis, Sutton, Poole, and a few others, 
who made fortunes in attending to it. The hide and leather 
business, in all its modifications, has probably done more to 
advance the wealth and resources of the town, than any other ; 
especially when the manufactures, of which leather is the prin- 
cipal component part, are taken into view. ‘The annual amount 
of these manufactures is estimated at not less than $2,000,000.* 


EARTHEN WARE. 


A class of coarse ware, known as Danvers crockery, has been 
coeval with the existence of the town. Forty years since, it 
was made much more extensively than of late. It is now 
thrown out of use by articles of more strength and beauty, pro- 
cured at less expense from abroad,—though for many purposes, 
it still finds favor with those accustomed to its use. The clay 
on the margin of Waters River has been found particularly well 
adapted to this manufacture. 

The Osborns and Southwicks have done more at this work 
than any families within my knowledge. William Osborn, the 
first of the name, was spoken of as a potter. His descendants, 


* See Appendix, for statistics of this business. 


4] 


for four generations certainly, have shown their regard for their 
ancestor by sticking to his employment. 


OFFICIAL STATIONS. 


The right to participate in the making of the laws has ever 
been esteemed one of the choicest privileges of a citizen of New 
England. As early as 1634, the settlers here had beeome so 
numerous, that they felt the necessity of delegating their au- 
thority to representatives of their own choice. It was the jeal- 
ousy of the infringement of this right that moved our fathers to 
‘resist the oppressive taxation by the mother country,—and not 
the amount of tax imposed. It was the interference with this 
right by Lieut. Gov. Hutchinson, under the special instructions 
of ‘“Georgius Secundus,”’ at the time of the incorporation of 
the town, that specially aroused the indignation of the people 
of Danvers.* ‘Thus early awakened, it would have been 
extraordinary indeed if the citizens had not, at all times, been 
careful to be represented by ‘‘ good men and true,’’—by those 
understanding their duty, and ready to discharge it. 


* Lieut. Gov. Hutchinson entered upon the Records of the Council his pro- 
test against the act, as follows, viz.:— 

“T protest for the following reasons: 

“ First. Because it is the professed design of the bill to give the inhabitants 
who now join with the town of Salem in the choice of representatives, a power 
of choosing by themselves; and the number of which the house of representa- 
tives may at present consist being full large, the increase must have a tendency 
to retard the proceedings of the General Court, and to increase the burdens 
which, by their long session every year, lies upon the people, and must like- 
wise give the house an undue proportion to the board of the legislature, where 
many affairs are determined by a joint ballot of the two houses. 

*¢ Second. Because there being no governor in the Province, it is most agree- 
able to his Majesty’s commission to the late governor, to the message of this 
board to the house at the opening of the session, and in itself is most reasona- 
ble, that all matters of importance should be deferred until there be a governor 
in the chair. 

“ Third. Because the board, by passing this bill as the second branch of the 
legislature, necessarily bring it before themselves as the first branch for assent 
or refusal; and such members as vote for the bill in one capacity, must give 
their assent to it in the other, directly against the royal instruction to the gov- 
ernor, when the case is no degree necessary to the public interest; otherwise, 
their doings will be inconsistent and absurd. Txos. Hutcuinson. 

Council Chamber, June 9, 1757.” ' 


6 


42 


REPRESENTATIVES. 


Of those who have thus served the town, the following may 
be named, viz. :— 
Samuel Holten, Jr., 9 years, from 1768 to 1780 


Israel Hutchinson, 18 “ a LGC tO eres 
' Gideon Foster, : Meaalesd! “ 1796 to 1806 
Samuel Page, oe “1800 to 1814 
Nathan Felton, 15 “ © 1805 to 1821 


and many others, for periods of from one to eight years. 

(One remark naturally arises upon a view of this state of facts, 
comparing the past with the present. Then, when a man had 
been in office long enough to acquire useful experience, he was 
continued, while.he was willing to serve; and deemed none 
the less qualified because he had done his duty a few years, 
with good ability. Now, when he‘has acquired this experience, 
he is kindly reminded that there are those who want his place ; 
that rotation is the grand democratic principle, without regard 
to qualification ; and if he does not voluntarily abandon the 
hope, the probability is, the people will give him leave to with- 


draw. 
SENATORS AND COUNCILLORS. 


In the Senate of the State, the town has often been repre- 
sented, and thereby been favored with a full share of the 
Honorables. Instance the 

Hon. Samuel Holten, 
‘¢ Daniel P. King, 
‘¢- Jonathan Shove, 
‘¢ Ehas Putnam, 
‘* Robert S. Daniels, 
‘¢ Henry Poor, 
«George Osborn, &c., 

‘varying in their terms of service from one to three years. 


In the Executive Council, the town has been represented 
by the Hon. Samuel Holten, 
‘<  [srael Hutchinson, 
‘* Robert S. Daniels, &c. 


43 


JUSTICES. 


Of the County Courts, Hon. Timothy Pickering, Hon Sam- 
uel Holten, and John W. Proctor, have been Justices. 

Of the Court of Probate, Hon. Samuel Holten was for many 
~ years a Judge. 

Of the Supreme Judicial Court, Hon. Samuel Putnam was 
for many years an eminent Judge, as his well-digested legal 
opinions in the Reports bear testimony. 

Of Judges Holten and Putnam, it can in truth be said, what 
rarely is true with men in office, that they were more ready to 
leave their offices, than to have their offices leave them,—they 
having both voluntarily resigned, when their services were 
highly appreciated. Judge Putnam still lives, at the green old 
age of eighty-five, beloved and respected by all who know him. 


REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 


In Congress, the voice of Danvers has been heard, rage: 
the representatives of the second district of the State, for about 
one eighth part of the time since the organization-of the gov- 
ernment. | 

Hon. Samuel Holten, 

‘« Nathan Reed, 

«¢ Daniel P. King, 
have occupied this station. Mr. King was the immediate suc- 
cessor of the lamented Saltonstall, of Salem. Few, very few 
districts in our land can boast of representatives so unexcep- 
tionable in all those qualities that best become aman. They 
will long be remembered as stars of the first magnitude in the 
constellation of worthies from Essex South District. 


MUNICIPAL OFFICES. . CLERKS. 


In the management of the concerns of the town, there is no 
duty of more responsibility than that which devolves upon the 
clerk. On the correctness of his record rests the tenure of 
office, and essentially depends the character and reputation of 
the town. 


44 


How else is he who caters for the intellectual part of the 
centennial entertainments to be advised of facts? What is 
now learned of time past one hundred years can be come at 
through the records alone. ‘What those present at the next 
centennial will be able to present, must be drawn mainly from 
the clerks’ records. Nothing else will have a character to be 
relied on; unless perchance some floating leaf of this. day’s 
doings shall chance to be preserved by some careful antiquarian. 

Fortunately the records of Danvers were commenced by 
Daniel Eppes, Jr., and kept for two years in a form highly 
exemplary. His chirography ‘was plain, his knowledge of lan- 
guage good, so that he used the right words in the right place, 
neither more nor less ;—a qualification not sufficiently regarded 
by many of those who have come after him :—among these, 


James Prince, 6 years, 
Stephen Needham, 11 “ 
Gideon Foster, * Neh 
Joseph Osborne, Jr., 6 “ 
Nathan Felton, yee ’ 
Benjamin Jacobs, 6 iif 
Joseph Shed, LY fe 


and others from one to three years. Joseph Shed, Esq., the 
present clerk, has greatly improved upon the records of his 
predecessors by his mode of indexing and filing of papers. 
There still remains much to be done to make the records intel- 
ligible, without the explanation of those who made them. Let 
any one experience the inconveniences I have met in ascer- 
taining facts that should be readily understood, and 1 will 
guarantee that he will not come to any other conclusion. A 
town like this should have their own office for all their papers, 
and all their papers arranged in systematic order, under the 
care and keeping of the clerk,—and not otherwise. 


MEDICAL PROFESSION. 


No educated physician, to my knowledge, resided in town 
previous to the separation. Female attendants were at com- 
mand, without doubt, in cases of emergency, which often 


45 


occurred, as the increase of population fully demonstrates. A 
Dr. Gregg is mentioned, as early as the year 1692, as being 
consulted in the diseases that then prevailed; but where he 
resided I know not. 

Drs. Jonathan Prince, Archelaus Putnam, Samuel Holten, 
and Amos Putnam, are the first named physicians in the North 
Parish. Drs. Parker Cleveland, Joseph Osgood, and Joseph 
Torrey, are the first in the South Parish. All of these are 
believed to have been regularly educated physicians, of the old 
order. 

Other names have appeared, at different periods, such as Drs. 
Chickering, Nutting, Hildreth, Bowers, Carlton, Clapp, Cilley, 
Little, Peabody, Gould, Southwick, Porter, Bush, Patten, &c. ; 
but they did not remain long enough to leave any distinct im- 
pression of themselves or their practice. Within my memory, 

Drs. Andrew Nichols, 
George Osgood, 
Ebenezer Hunt, 
George Osborne, and 
Joseph Osgood, 
have been the medical advisers chiefly consulted. All of tiese 
are well experienced in their profession. 

Dr. James Putnam, son of Dr. Amos, accompanied his father 
“many years. 

Dr. Joseph Shed, a pupil of the celebrated Dr. B. Kittridge, 
also practised several years. ‘ 

Drs. David A. Grosvenor, and Samuel A. Lord, have recently 
_ been added to the number of regular physicians. 

How many there are, or have been, who have rested their 
fame on the new-modeled notions of cold water applications, 
hot pepper mixtures, and infinitesimal divisions, I will not 
presume to say; but I will say I have good reason to believe 
that prescriptions of nauseous drugs have essentially diminished, 
and probably will continue to do so as people grow more en- 
lightened. ‘There is no science in which so little is certainly 
known as that of medicine. 


46 


LEGAL PROFESSION. 


I am not aware that any one ever attempted to live by the 
law, in Danvers, previous to 1812; since then many have 
started here ; no one (except myself) has remained many years. 
The order of residence has been as follows, viz. :— 

Ralph H. French, 
Frederick Howes, 
Benjamin L. Oliver, Jr., 
George Lamson, 
John Walsh, 
John W. Proctor, 
Rufus Choate, 
Joshua H. Ward, 
Frederick Mormill, 
William D. Northend, 
Alfred A. Abbott, 
Benjamin Tucker, 
| Edward Lander, Jr., 

- — Benj. C. Perkins. 

No lawyer has ever died in town with his harness on; and 
no one, to my knowledge, has ever realized a hving income 
from professional business. It is a poorly paid employment, 
and not worth having by those who can find anything else to 
do. The proximity to Salem, where such men as Prescott, 
Story, Pickering, Saltonstall, Cummings, Merrill, Huntington, 
and Lord, have ever been ready to aid those in want of justice, 
has taken the cream from the dish of the professional gentlemen 
of Danvers. 


AFRICAN SLAVERY. 


A glance at the last one hundred years of the history of the 
town, suggests a word upon the slavery of the African; a 
topic that has agitated and still agitates our country to its centre. 
Do not fear that I am about to introduce party topics, for I am 
no partizan in this matter. True, I am opposed to slavery, 


- 


47 


root and branch,—as I presume .every genuine son of New 
England is,—and am ready to do all that can be done to extir- 
pate it from the land, consistent with the preservation of indi- 

vidual rights, and the obligations to regard the constitution. | 

At the time of the separation, there were, within the limits 
of the town, twenty-five slaves,—nine males, sixteen females. 
These became free by the abolition of slavery in the State, on 
the adoption of our constitution. Most of them remained, 
while they lived, in the service of their former owners. I am 
happy to know that some of them were valuable citizens, and 
left descendants much respected ; one of whom, Prince Former, 
son of Milo, slave of Mr. William Poole, lately deceased at 
Salem. ~Since the decease of these slaves, scarcely an individ- 
ual of this colored race has found a home in Danvers. I do 
not now know of any one in town. ‘There are many citizens 
who say much about the rights of the oppressed African, and 
the wrongs they suffer, and profess great sympathy in their © 
behalf. YI have never known of any efforts of theirs to en- 
courage the residence of such persons among us. On the con- 
trary, I have known some of the most zealous to advise them 
to be off. 

In 1819, the town expressed a very decided opinion against 
the further extension of slavery, in a communication made to 
the Hon. Nathaniel Silsbee, then representative from this dis- 
trict, in Congress, by a committee appointed for this purpose, 
consisting of Edward Southwick, and four others. 

In 1847, when considering the expediency of the Mexican 
war, aresolve, prepared by myself, was unanimously adopted, 
“that the town would not, in any manner, countenance any- 
thing that shall have a tendency to extend that most disgraceful 
feature of our institutions,—domestic slavery.” 'These opinions, 
deliberately adopted, I believe, express the feelings of a very 
large proportion of the citizens,—in fact, nearly all those who 
had given attention to the subject. It cannot be doubted, the 
anti-slavery feeling is constantly increasing; and it would have 
been universal, had it not have been for the zll-advised move- 


48 


ments of some of its advocates. How can it be otherwise? 
Who will presume to contend “that man has a right to enslave 
his fellow man’? The laws of nature and of God forbid it. 
This is an axiom too clear to be illustrated by argument. He 
who thinks otherwise, is unworthy the place of his birth. 
Freedom, unqualified freedom, shall ever be our watchword. 


BURIAL PLACES. 


The numerous burial places scattered over the surface of the 
town, amounting to more than one hundred, is a feature: so pe- 
culiar as to demand a moment’s notice. Almost every ancient 
family had a deposit for their dead, on their own farm. Nearly 
one half the families that were here one hundred years ago, 
have run out or removed from town. ‘The consequence is that 
their premises have passed to other names, and the deposits for 
their dead to those “‘who knew them not.” If there could be 
any certainty of continued title, burial among friends would be 
a delightful thought ; but when we are constantly reminded that 
in the next generation the ashes of friends may be disturbed 
by the unfeeling operations of strangers, we are compelled to 
give preference to public over private cemeteries. 

Even these are not quite secure. A few years since, in mak- 
ing a street to Harmony Grove the remains of hundreds of cit- 
izens were disinterred in what was understood to be the oldest 
burial-ground in Salem. One stone marked “R. B. 1640,” was 
found, supposed to indicate the grave of Robert Buffum, a gen- 
tleman of that age. 

Near this, on Poole’s Hill, is one of the oldest and most ex- 
tensive of the public cemeteries. Here rest the remains ‘of 
Cook, Daland, and Goldthwait, patriots who fell at the Battle 
of Lexington, and of the reverend pastors, Holt and Walker, 
who alone, of the large number who have officiated as pastors 
in the South Parish, died with their harness on. 

But what more than anything else excites the curiosity of 
strangers is the burial place of Miss Klizabeth Whitman, the 
original of Eliza Wharton, immortalized by a lady, wife of a 


49 


clergyman at Brighton, as the American Coquette. A constant 
pilgrimage to her grave has been performed until the path is 
firmly beaten, and the monument which is of freestone is nearly 
crumbled in ruins. ‘Tradition speaks of this lady as possessing 
superior charms, both mental and personal. She was of good 
‘family, and basely betrayed. While her deviations from the 
path of virtue may start the tear of pity, her follies should not 
be overlooked. A misapplied sympathy for her, may be used 
as an apology by others. When we witness the manner in 
which the populace of our own times are led captive by the at- 
_tractions of those not less exceptionable, it is not surprising that 
there should be found many a sympathizing devotee at the 
shrine of this unfortunate lady. Here on the banks of this 
beautiful stream that flows in our midst, will be found the earli- 
est and latest graves of Old Salem. Who that has followed 
the mournful hearse, laden with the last remains of friends be- 
loved, slowly winding its way over marsh and dale to this 
‘Harmonious Grove,’ will not.involuntarily exclaim, 
“From every grave a thousand virtues rise, 
In shapes of mercy, charity and love, 
To walk the world and bless it. Of every tear 


That sorrowing*mortals shed on these green graves 
Some good is born, some gentler nature comes ?” 


POPULATION. 


There is no certain data to ascertain the number of inhabit- 
ants in the town at the time of the separation. The number 
of persons named in the first assessment of taxes, is 280, which, 
multiplied by five, will give 1400. The number did not ex- 
ceed this; it may not have been more than 1200. It has in- 
creased as follows, viz. :— 


P75 OpenGL 41400; 
LROS MATa BREA TORT: 
SO OsKinshiweay He howe QEAB; 
TBE, ay Welch we: noBE 
LBRO pidet? BEA heen BEd6) 
AGO; wid arte downey er) BOR 
SAG bitin) S eon bis DBR: 


7s 


50 


1850, ‘ 8110, 

1852, : 8400, 
being six times the number there were one hundred years be- 
fore. The number has actually doubled within the last twenty 
years, and is now going on, increasing as fast as at any other 
period. The improved facilities of communication have brought 
us within a half hour’s time of the Capital. 


RAILROADS. 


For many years Danvers struggled hard for railroad accom- 
modation. She had to contend with the monied aristocracy of 
the Commonwealth. Through mistaken influences, the Eastern 
Railroad had been located across the water to East Boston, and 
through the tunnel at Salem, both of which were egregious 
errors; and a determination was formed to constrain the travel 
in that direction, but it was found-no go; the people were not 
to be driven where they did not incline to go. Finally a land 
route was opened from Salem, through Danvers, to Boston ; 
which, if the people of Danvers had been wise enough to keep 
within their own control, as they should have done, would 
have greatly benefited them, and equally annoyed the Eastern 
Road; but they were outwitted, and the boon escaped their 
grasp. ‘T'wo other roads have been laid through the town, 
towards the Merrimack, where but one was needed. A million 
of dollars has been laid out where half a million would have 
done better, if it had been judiciously expended. The conse- 
quence is, we have all the “noise and confusion” of railroad 
movement, with indifferent accommodations, under the direction 
of those who have hitherto shown very little disposition to 
accommodate. 


BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 


Justice demands a more distinct notice of those individuals 
who have taken a prominent part in the concerns of the town, 
and been identified with it, than has been given in the rapid 
description of incidents presented. The characteristics of a 
town are necessarily the result of individual efforts. Among 


& 


51 


those, who have left the deepest impress on its character, will 
be found 
| Daniel Eppes, Esq., 
Capt. Samuel Gardner, 
Capt. John Proctor, 
Nathaniel Putnam, 
Joseph Putnam, 
Samuel Holten, 
William Shillaber, 
Gideon Foster, 
Israel Hutchinson, 
Dr. Amos Putnam, 
Nathan Felton, 
Edward Southwick, 
Samuel Page, 
Squiers Shove, 
Elias Putnam, 
Jonathan Shove, 
Daniel P. King. 
Of those who will be entitled to be remembered on the page 
of history, the following may be mentioned :— 
Gen. Israel Putnam, 
Gen. Gideon Foster, 
Gen. Moses Porter, 
Dr. Samuel Holten, 
Col. Israel Hutchinson, 
Dr. Amos Putnam, 
Rev. Peter Clark, 
Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth, 
Col. Jeremiah Page, 
Capt. Samuel Page, 
Capt. Samuel Flint, r 
Col. Enoch Putnam, 
Capt. Samuel Eppes, 
Hon. Timothy Pickering, 
Hon. Nathaniel Bowditch, 
Hon. Daniel P. King. 


52 


Of those good men who lived long and well, and were con- 
tent so to do, without any proclamation made of it, the follow- 
ing should not be overlooked :— 

Levi Preston, 
Caleb Oakes, 
Johnson Proctor, 
Eleazer Putnam, 
Fitch Poole, 
Ebenezer Shillaber, 
Stephen Needham, 
Samuel King, 
Malachi Felton, 
Ebenezer King, 
Moses Preston, 
Stephen Proctor. 


BIOGRAPHY OF GEN. GIDEON FOSTER. 


Identified with the town of Danvers will ever be the name 
of Gen. Gideon Foster. Born in 1749, and coming upon the 
stage of life just as the town came into being, he grew with 
its growth, and continued nearly through its first century. His 
father was of Boxford. His mother was Lydia Goldthwait, a 
descendant of an early family in Danvers. 

At the beginning of the Revolution, then in the vigor of 
manhood, full of patriotic ardor and physical energy, he was 
called to scenes of trial and danger in the battles of Lexington 
and Bunker Hill, and there established a reputation for valor 
that was never tarnished. Often have I listened with admira- 
tion to the narrative of the eventful scenes through which he 
passed. 

On the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, he started, with 
the consent of Col. Pickering, commander of the regiment of 
Salem and vicinity, at the head of his company of minute-men ; 
and with such ardor did they move, that they passed on foot 
sizteen miles in four hours, to West Cambridge, where they 
met the enemy, on their return from Concord, near Lexington. 
Intent on the purpose in view, regardless of personal danger, 


53 


when they heard the troops approaching, unmindful of their 
number, they took their station in a barn-yard by the road-side, 
and when they were directly opposite, they poured into them | 
an effectual fire. Immediately they withdrew, under the cover 
of the woods, behind the hill, and were there met by the flank 
guard, when seven of their number were shot dead, and as 
many more wounded. ‘Their names are inscribed on yonder 
monument, and will continue to awaken the liveliest emotions 
of freedom, in the breasts of patriots of every land, while the 
granite of our hills shall endure. 

The facts relating to this engagement I had from Dennison 
Wallis and the General himself, together with the further fact, 
that he discharged his own musket at the enemy twelve times, 
loaded with two balls each time, with well-directed aim. And 
as he was remarkable for being a good shot, there can be no 
doubt he made his mark upon their ranks. 

For more than seventy years, Gen. Foster was one of the 
most active and influential citizens of the town. For the last 
thirty years, it was his ambition to be the first to deposit his 
ballot, in all important elections. So unerring was his judg- 
ment, that he never failed to be. the file leader of the majority, 
or wavered from the genuine Whig principles of ’76. In his 
time, there was no doubt where Danvers would be found. 
Since his departure, there have arisen those who knew not 
Gideon, and the result has occasionally corresponded with this 

‘want of knowledge. 
* Gen. Foster will long be remembered for his private as well 
as his public virtues. ‘Tried in no small measure by the hard- 
ships of adversity, his innate integrity never yielded to tempta- 
tion. Through life, he sustained the character of an honest 
man. Who does not remember with admiration that venerable 
form, bending under thé infirmities of more than ninety years, 
as he guided his plough upon his scanty acres, or harnessed his 
horse to attend upon the temple of the Lord; and with what 
humility he bowed before the Deity, whom he so reverently 
worshipped ? ; 

His virtues will ever be enshrined in our hearts, though (to 


54 


our reproach be it spoken) no monument marks the resting- 
place of his ashes. His epitaph may now be supposed to read, 
Died Nov. 1, 1845, aged 963 years,— 


“ By strangers honored and by strangers mourned.” * 


BIOGRAPHY OF GEN. MOSES PORTER. 


Moses Porter was born at, Danvers, in 1757. He was an 
officer in the artillery service, under General Putnam, at Bunker 
Hill, and particularly distinguished for the bravery with which 
he fought. He was with Washington at the battle of Brandy- 
wine, and wounded at Trenton, on the Delaware. At the close 
of the Revolutionary war, he was the only officer of artillery 
retained on the peace establishment. He was with General 
Wayne, at his celebrated engagement with the Indians in 1794. 
He was commander at the taking of Fort George, in 1813 ;— 
and in many other positions during the war on the Western 
frontier. He was a soldier, and a brave one ;—uniting in an 
extraordinary manner, the swaviter in modo with the fortiter in 
re. I have heard him say, whenever danger or difficulty was 
apprehended, he threw off his epaulette and plume, and putting 
on his tight cap and short jacket, he wore them until all dis- 
turbing elements had passed away. 

At the beginning of the war of 1812, he commanded at the 
port of Norfolk, and with such firmness were the enemy re- 
pulsed on their first visit, that they never found it convenient 
to call a second time. R 

He was an upright, honorable man, of mien dignified and 
commanding ; a rigid disciplinarian; a Washingtonian in senti- 
ment; of unwavering courage ; uniting all the urbanities of the 
gentleman, with the inflexible firmness of the soldier. Danvers 
may be proud of furnishing, in Putnam and Porter, ¢wo as res- 


* Here let me say, that the same envelope that contained the donation from 
George Peabody, Esq., of London, of $20,000 for the promotion of education 
and morality among us, yauthorized me to subscribe, in behalf of the donor, 
the sum of fifty dollars towards a monument to the memory of the General, as 
soon as a corresponding sympathy shall be awakened in the bosoms of his 
fellow-townsmen. 


oy) 


olute soldiers as ever preceded Zachary Taylor or Winfield 
Scott in the service of their country. 

Gen. Porter died at Cambridge, April, 1822, aged 65. His 
remains rest in the family burial-ground at Danvers. 


SUMMARY VIEW. 


A summary view of the condition of the town of Danvers, at 
the close of the first century of its independent existence, shows 
the following facts, viz. :— 


Population, : ; 8,110 

Valuation, , : $3,294,800 
Estimated Annual Payments,— 

For Religious Instruction, . . $10,000 

For support of Free Schools, . 10,000 

For support of the Poor, . : 5,000 


For ordinary Municipal purposes, 5,000 


I use round numbers, omitting fractions. A large part of the 
population are now engaged in mechanical and manufacturing 
pursuits. Many have recently come in, and can hardly be 
reckoned as permanent settlers. The facilities for employment 
are constantly enlarging; and with the increasing facilities of 
intercourse through all parts of the country, and the continued 
industrial habits that have ever been the distinguishing charac- 
teristic of the town, imagination can hardly set bounds to the 
advances to be made.* 


* On the next page will be found a table explanatory of the finances of 
Danvers. 

Biographical sketches of most of those named on page 51, had been pre- 
pared; but they are omitted, to give place to more interesting matters, that 
sprung up on the day of the celebration. 


36 


CONCLUDING REMARKS. 


Descendants of the pioneers at Danvers! of Endicott, of 
Putnam, of Porter, of Preston, of Felton, of Waters, of Trask, 
of Osborn, and a host of others. Why have you come together 
this day? Is it not to gain instruction from the contemplation 
of the deeds of your fathers? | ; 

Be animated by their patriotism ;—be purified by their piety ; 
—be admonished by their follies ;—be encouraged by their 
industry ;—and in all things, wherein they were found worthy, 


Valuations and Assessments in Danvers, from 1827 to 1852. 








Year. Valuation. Per cent. of Town Tax. Assessment. 
1827 $1,870,700 34 $6,360 38 
1828 2,017,600 82 6,456 32 
1829 2,087,350 2 6,679 52 
1830 2,033,500 44 8,947 40 
1831 2,181,700 , 31.8 6,581 78 
1832 2,264,050 32 7,244 96 
1833 2,263,050 36 8,146 98 
1834 2,212,750 OO 7,895 26 
1835 2,215,900 30.0 7,866 44 
1836 2,321,750 | 34.5 8,010 04 
. 1837 1,862,750 00 9,313 75 
1838 1,848,950 44 8,135 38 
1839 1,892.300 44 8,326 12 
1840 1,971,500 .00 9,857 50 
1841 2,029,800 43 8,728 14 
1842 2,077,000 46 9,554 20 
1843 2,094,300 AS 9,404 35 
1844 2,143,600 - 00 10,718 00 
1845 2,373,800 -.62 14,717 56 
1846 2,528,700 12 (18,406 64 
1847 2,594,100 63 16,342 83 
1848 2,708,300 06 15,166 48 
1849 2,810,200 .06 15,737 12 
1850 3,077,100 40 21,539 70 
1851 3,186,300 .82 26,127 66 
1852 3,294,500 76 25,038 20 





Thus it appears, while the property in town has not doubled, taxation has 
increased four fold. It should also be remembered, that the highway, county, 
district, and religious taxes, usually amount to as much as the town tax. The 
amount of taxation in the town is not less than fen dollars annually on each 
thousand dollars of property. 

This table has been compiled with care, and will afford to the curious in- 
quirer the best possible index of the progress and the management of the 
concerns of the town. It should serve as an admonition to the citizens to keep 
their expenditures within their means ;—a lesson of late too little regarded. 


o7 


strive to imitate their example. How can you better show 
yourselves worthy of your parentage ? 

Here, where once grew the blueberry and the alder, and the — 
frog and the turtle tuned their notes without annoyance, now 
spouts the steam engine, rolls the railroad car, and resounds the 
busy hum of industry of every description. Here the gushing 
fountains pour out resources inexhaustible through the tannin 
from the bark of the mountain. On the hills made fertile by 
the skill ;—on the plains enriched by the toils ;—on the mead- 
ows reclaimed by the art, of those who first landed on these 
forbidding shores, will ever be found rich mementos of their 
wisdom and their worth. | 

Though, in your coffers, the pearls of the Indies, or the glit- 
tering sands of California, may not abound, still, while the 
unfaultering hearts and strong arms of freemen are yours, no 
danger need be feared. ‘The combined power of learning, 
liberty, and law, will be your @gis of protection in every emer- 
gency. 

In conclusion, allow me to cite the following beautiful lines :— 

“‘ There is a land, of every land the pride, 
Beloved of Heaven o’er all the world beside ; 


There is a spot of earth supremely blest, 
A. dearer, sweeter spot, than all the rest. 


_ There woman reigns,—the mother, daughter, wife, 
Strews with fresh flowers the thorny path of life. 
Amidst her walks domestic duties meet, 

And fireside pleasures gambol at her feet. 


Where shall that land, that spot of earth, be found ? 
Art thou a man? a patriot? look around! 

Oh thou shalt find, where’er thy footsteps roam, 
That land thy country, and that spot thy home.” 


58 


CONTENTS OF THE ADDRESS. 


Introductory Remarks, - - - - - - 3 
Ancient Naumkeag, - - - - - - 3 
Name of Danvers, : - . : : - o 
Grant of land to Capt. John Endicott, - - . - 7 

“« «to Rey. Samuel Skelton, - - - - 9 

ec « «to John Humphrey, Esq., . - . 9 

« «to John Putnam and Sons, - - - 11 

« «© to Emanuel Downing, = - - - . ll 
Witchcraft Delusion, - - - - - - 12 to 19 
Revolutionary Incidents, - : - . - - 19 to 23 
Battle of Lexington, - : - - - - 23 
Battle of Bunker Hill, - - - : - - 24 
Heroes of the Revolution, : - - - - 25 
Extraordinary Age of Soldiers, - “ . » - 26 
Religious Worship, : - : - - - 27 to 32 
Education, and Free Schools, - - - . - 32 to 36 
Paupers, Support of, &c., - - . - - 36 to 38 
Temperance movements, - - - - - 38 to 39 
Business of the Town, - - - - - - 39 to 40 
Official Stations, - - - - - . - 41 to 44 
Medical Profession, - : : . - - 44 to 45 
Legal Profession, - - - : . : 46 
African Slavery, - - - - - : - AT 
Burial Places, - - . - : - - 48 
Population of the Town, - - - - 3. 49 
Railroads, - - - - - ~ - . 50 
Gideon Foster, notice of, - . Pe - - - 52 to 54 
Moses Porter, notice of, - - - - - - 54 to 55 


Financial Table, - . - : . . sy #78 


o9 


DAN VERS: 


A POEM. 


BY eA DIR EEW NE CHO T'S*. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Danvers, loved name, my native place, 
The dearest land on the broad face 

Of Earth, to me,—around thee cling 
Lov’d memories,—of these I sing ; 

Lov’d legends, which my youthful ear 
Drank with delight,—and here, yes here, 
I’ve tasted all the various sweets, 

Which man in his life’s journey meets. 
Here too I’ve suffered, mourned, and shed 
The tears of grief, o’er loved ones dead. 
Committed to thy bosom lie 

All of the dearest that could die, 

And through their graves, I farthest see 
Into a blest futurity. 

O Danvers! how can I forget 

A gem like thee so richly set, 

By all life’s holiest powers enchas’d, 

And in my very heart encas’d. 

How can I then thy call refuse, 

‘ The residence of ev’ry Muse, 

That has, with song, my pathway cheer’d, 
And doubly to my soul endear’d 

My home, sweet home, so full of charms, 
O how the thought with rapture warms! 
Yes home, sweet home, I’ve never known, 
Except in Danvers, as my own. 


« 


60 


O Danvers, Danvers, proud am I, 

Who hold thee in esteem so high, 

On this Centennial Jubilee 

Thy Laureat and chief bard to be. 

Yes proud, tho’ trembling now with fear, 
Lest I disgrace a theme so dear ;— 

Lest hands benumb’d by age and toil 

The sculpture of thy beauties spoil. 
And yet it seems so meet that they, 

Who in thy service have, grown grey,—- 
Who’ve loved thee longest, known thee well, 
Should on this day thy story tell,— 

Tho’ not to risks of failure blind 

I dare essay the task assigned. 


I 


What need is there that Danvers’ sons should roam ? 
Has the broad earth a good not found at home, 

By those who ne’er have wandered? Still they go, 
On other lands their dabors to bestow ! 

Yes, go, moved by benevolence to give 

To others more than they from them receive ! 
Well, let them go, the sons of other soils 

Fill well their places here, and take the spoils 

By them abandoned !—cultivate her fields, 

And feast on dainties which old Danvers yields! 
We bid right welcome to our homes and hearts 

All who bring here their industry and arts,— 
Rebuild waste places, or ope places new, 

Give zest to social life, good men and true, 

Who will the bounds of useful works extend, 

And act the parts of brother, helper, friend. 

None greet with purer joy this festive day 

Than these adopted citizens, who say 

‘ Danvers to us has proved a Mother dear ; 

‘ Life’s richest banquet we have tasted here.’ 


And ye, self-exiled children, who have come 

T’ embrace your Mother in your dear old home, 
Welcome, once more, into her outstretched arms ; 
O has she not for you still peerless charms ? 


61 


Say, have you elsewhere in your wanderings found, 
Of heartfelt joys a more productive ground ? 


II. 


What son of Danyers can unmov’d survey 
The scene before us, and the prospect round, 
The moving panorama, bright and gay, 
Forest and pasture, tillage and meadow ground, 
Houses and workshops, factories and barns, 
And an industrious people busy there ! 
Comfort and thrift the roving eye discerns, 
With peace and plenty nestling everywhere ; 
Railroads and steamers, which facilitate _ 
Progress in all that’s pleasing, good, or great, 
Give to the people here ubiquity, 
Unknown in ages past, and set them free 
O’er a wide field of usefulness to roam— 
Work many miles abroad, yet live at home ; 
Schoolhouses, where the intellect acquires 
Strength to fight nobly the battles of life, 
Churches, soul-lifting to Heaven, whose spires 
Point to a rest from earth’s sorrows and strife. 


Or if alone upon the landscape, we 

Bend all our thoughts, how beautiful and grand 
The varied prospects, various scenery, 

Of hill and dale, brooks, lakelets, sea and land; 
Those large morains,* our mother’s swelling breasts,— 

Full of refreshing springs of water sweet ;— 
Those fertile plains, yon broken rocks where rests 

Volcanic power—its ancient work complete— 
These, by the lights which science o’er them throws, 

Teach morals, wisdom, and ideal arts— 
As rich as fam’d Parnassus’ mount bestows, 

Or classic realm to favored bards imparts ; 
Yes, Beauty here her countless forms displays, 

Her rainbow-tinted, glorious, changeful rays 
Present an everpleasing panorama, 

To recreate us thro’ life’s painful drama. 

* 
* Hills formed by the diluvial drift. 


62 


To aid our moral culture ’round us here, , 
The graves of honored ancestors appear, 

Scattered on every side o’er hill and dale, 
Telling, to thoughtful souls, a most instructive tale. 


Ii. 


The past returns, the present disappears, 
Old Time rolls backward nearly twelve score years ; 
Dense forests fill these vales, those hill tops crown, 
Rills, brooks, and rivers send their waters down 
An unobstructed tribute to the sea, 
And wild herds graze on fertile hill and lea. 
* Here lives the Indian, nature’s savage child, 
Fierce as the panther, as the roebuck wild, 
Housed in wigwams, simple structures these— 
The frames are poles, or small straight sapling trees, 
In circles, or in squares, fixed in the ground, 
Their tops with strips of bark together bound ; 
With mats or bark well cover’d, tight and warm, 
Shelter’d by forest trees from sun and storm ; 
A bull-rush mat a side hole covers o’er, 
Which is at once a window and a door ; 
A central fire, by which their food they cook, 
And a top hole to give egress to smoke. 
Around this fire, when chilled by Winter’s cold, 
In skins or blankets wrapp’d, the young and old 
Sleep, work or game; feast, smoke, dance, paint or sing, 
Prepare to hunt or fight ; and hither bring - 
The spoils ; here squaws, pappooses, guests repose, 
Warriors and captives all together doze. 
But many a wigwam now a ruin lies ; 
The yellow plague, which Powow’s art defies, 
Has Massachusetts warriors swept away ; 
Their thousands down to hundreds are reduc’d ; 
Cold, cold, the ashes on their hearth-stones lay, 
Their bows unstrung, their traps and nets unus’d.* 


* In 1612-13, the Massachusetts Tribe of Indians, which had previously 
numbered 3000 warriors, was so reduced by the “ yellow plague,” that there- 
after it consisted of 300 men only, besides women and children.— Gookin’s 
Historical Collections, 1654. 


63 


IV. 


I sing of ancient times, when sires of ours 

First sought a home upon these pleasant shores ; 
So pleasant now, but when they first came here 
A howling wilderness, cold, dark and drear. 

O why did those, who had been bred in ease, 
Defy the dangers of uncharted seas, 

And throw themselyes, and all they dearly prized, 
Upon a scheme so wild, so ill advised ? 

They had no home in England ; ruthless war 

On all their rights, which were worth living for, 
Had so reduced them to despotic thrall, 

That their free souls were all that they could call 
Their own. No home! for unmolested, they 
Could not enjoy the privilege to pray 

Their God to bless them; nor themselves employ 
In acts of worship, the soul’s highest joy, 

Such as their conscience did of them require, 
And which alone could save them from the fire 
Unquenchable. No home! tyrannic power 

Had plac’d its spies in their most private bower— 
No home! the hearth which cheered their early years, 
Was desecrated then by blood and tears, 

And e’en their fathers’ venerated graves 
Rebuked them with—* How can our sons be slaves ? 
‘Tt was in vain we shed our blood to free 

‘The land from papal thrall and prelacy, 

‘If you succumb beneath the galling chain 
‘Imposed by upstart Popes, and prelates vain.’ 
No; *twas a homeless, persecuted band, 

Who sought a home in this then savage land, 

- A place of rest where they might sheltered be, 
Beneath their own dear vine, and fruitful tree. 
How trifling all the ills of outward life 

To inward conflicts, and the spirit’s strife ! 

They felt this truth, ’tis not by bread alone | 

Man lives and makes life’s benefits his own ; 

But every word, each providence of God, 

Is to the soul its most nutritious food. 


64 


Beneath God’s seeming frown there ever lies 

A hidden good, which trusting souls may seize 
And find support. This well the pilgrims knew, 
Their history proves the cheering doctrine true ; 
And it proves also, that to earnest souls, 

In whom faith all their energies controls, 

God gives sure conquest. But conquest may be 
A blessing or a curse, may bind or free. 

God gives eternal principles, and then 

Leaves their employment to the choice of men. 
Good principles may be by men abused, 

Yes, faith in God in Satan’s service used. 


V. 


Lo! yonder bay is plough’d by unknown keels, 
Her parting water a new impulse feels ; 

Where heretofore nought save the light canoe 
Of Indian floated, or some raft of trees, 

A noble ship comes slowly on, her crew 
Right hardy children of the stormy seas, 

And numerous passengers now throng her deck ; 
With throbbing hearts and watery eyes survey 

The wood-crowned headlands, every creek inspect ; 
And look admiring ’round the spacious bay ! 

The cannon utters its terrific voice,— 
The wild beasts startled to their coverts flee, 

Echo returns their shouts, no other noise,— 
No human beings on the shores they see !* 

They land ; they settle, that is, houses build,— 
With battle axe, the forest trees assail ;— 

They plant in virgin soils, before untilled, 
Maintain close walk with God, their sins bewail, 

And sternly meet, with an unflinching mind, 
The evils of their lot, their enemies— 

Sickness, death, devils ; deeming them designed 
To try their faith, and make them strong and wise. 
Death decimates their ranks, disease consumes 

Their strength, but to their steady purpose true 


* A letter from one of the first settlers states this fact—Mass. Hist. Coll. 


65 


Their task postponed, returning strength resumes, 
Or other hands th’ unfinished works renew ; 

So toil’d and suffered our forefathers here. 

How all their hardships do their names endear, 
Or should endear to us, inheritors of all 

Their toil has purchased, or their valor won— 
Freedom from bigot’s rule, from tyrant’s thrall, 

The skill and. power to conquer, or to shun, 
The dreaded evils that beset our race, 
Between the cradle and its resting place. 


VI. 


Our Puritan ancestors start from their graves, 
And lo! now before us appear, 

As when, wafted over the Atlantic’s waves, 
They planted a colony here. 


In separate groups the old emigrants come, 
In feelings and objects the same, 

To enjoy their religion, establish a home, 
God’s laws re-enact and proclaim. 


So grave is their object, how can they be gay, 
Or give to frivolity place ? 

Pilgrims and strangers, not long here to stay, 
Their wealth and their staff is God’s grace. 


For their God is to them a stern reality, 
Almighty to help in their need, 

Omniscient, their out and in goings to see ; 
Omnipresent, to teach, guard and lead. 


They too have a Devil most horribly great, 
To seduce, to deceive, and destroy ; 

Who, if not permitted to ruin the State, 
Could greatly disturb and annoy. 


Surrounded by heathen to bless or to kill, 
. Their lives in their hands day and night, 
With musket, hoe, axe, they go out on their hill, 


To make clearings, plant, or to fight. 
9 


66 


With good Scripture language each tongue well supplicd, 
Most effective, sound orators, they 

Think, teach, work, or fight, as they stand side by side, 
Always ready for deadly affray. 


Av’rice and bigot¥y too find a seat 
By the side of more liberal views ; 

For freedom of conscience death ready to meet, 
Yet the same boon to others refuse. 


Roger Williams from Salem is driven away, 
Mrs. Hutchinson smirch’d and defam’d ; 
Quakers and witches are hung; woful day! 

With sorrow remember’d sie nam’d. 


Yet in spite of their blue laws, the lasses will eye 
Their beaux upon Sabbath and fast ; 

And beaux will exchange with them glances tho’ sly, 
Which must make impressions to last, 


Till the blest consummation of oneness for life— 
Till death shall the smitten ones part, 

Till forgotten th’ relation of husband and wife, 
All the long-cherished wealth of the heart! 


In spite of stern synods, some people would think 
For themselves, and their notions proclaim ; 

Tho’ warden or tythingman threaten or wink, 
And church canons at them should aim. 


Hence Quakers may hang, Anabaptists may flee ; 
But heresy’s seed, widely sown, 

Will spring up and grow, aye, become quite a tree, 
Ere it to the watchmen be known. 


The Quakers, by martyrdom strengthened, sit down, 
Non-resistant in Brooksby,* resolved to enjoy 
Their rights God-defended, in this hostile town, 
The gospel of peace to proclaim, their employ. 


* An ancient name for South Danvers. 


67 


And Quakers among us are walking to-day, 

Who believe all-sufficient their old simple creed 
To live by and die by, and so they well may, 

For theirs is the Gospel of Jesus indeed. 


See Foster at college, commanded to write 
On the rite of Baptism a theme ;— 

The heretic-Baptists to turn to the right— 
From their baseless delusions redeem. 


The subject he studied, and straightway became 
A convert to dogmas he could not refute ; 

And doctrines believed in, he dared to proclaim, 
How little soever old friends it might suit. 


- He preach’d them at home, and upon Skelton’s Neck 
A church was soon gathered, which cherishes now 
The tenets he taught, and still holds in respect 
His name,—and his creed is their covenant vow. 


Still people would think, read their Bibles, embrace 
Other doctrines than those we have named ; 

Deacon Edmund,* with new-fangled views of God’s grace, 
Universal salvation proclaim’d. 


{t found little favor, his converts were few, 
When he with his forefathers slept. 

Still the seed he had sown died not, the plant grew, 
Reproduced till it thousands accept. 


Unitarians, Methodists, Catholics here, 
And comeouters, act, think as they please ; 
All of every name, who are pious, sincere, 
The reward win of piety, PEACE. 


Minds, morals improved by sectarian strife, 
Draw strength from the battle of creeds. 

‘Let all live together, embellishing life 

With the charm of beneficent deeds. 


* Edmund Putnam, 


68 


The Pilgrims, we know, were not always exempt 
From the vexatious promptings of sin ; 

They sometimes were angry, and looked with contempt 
On humanity’s dictates within. 


In neighborhoods, feuds, I am sorry to say, 
Were sometimes long cherished by law ; 

Where rights oft contested, and tiresome delay, 
On purses did cruelly draw. 


And no less on morals, religion, and peace, 
Without which enjoyment is not ; 

When vengeful and angry emotions increase, 
Duty, piety, love are forgot. 


But let us not dwell on their errors; ’tis well, 
If they teach us like errors to shun ; 

Let their virtues excite us to stand by the right— 
Guide our feet in their foot-prints to run. 


Vil. 


The Puriran—there’s in that name 
Much that must ever rev’rence claim 
Of all mankind—especially 

Of people struggling to be free. 

Bred amid scenes of cruel wrong, 

He grew pugnacious, firm and strong ; 
He was not yet entirely freed 

From his ancestral heathen creed, 

‘ That death in battle gains for all 
Admission into Odin’s hall!’ 

Hence heroes are, by honor’s laws, 
Deemed saints, however bad the cause: 
In which their bloody wreaths are gained, 
If by some sov’reign power sustained. 
Somewhat Judaical, too, he took, 

For his life’s law, the Holy book,— 
But from it rules of conduct drew 

To suit his own peculiar view 


6% = 


t 

Of duty,=ruthlessly pursued 

His enemies in bloody feud ; 

And such peculiarly deemed he 
Agents of his arch-enemy. 

Witches and wizards.—What, forgive ! 
Moses forbad that such should live. 
And such not doubting he had found 
Encumbering God’s holy ground, | 

He hung them up ;—an insane fury 
Possessing priest, judge, sheriff, jury ! 
And other crimes I need not name, 
Which mortal ne’er committed, came 
To be adjudicated here, 

And innocence with conscience clear, 
In some few cases, suffered on 

The gallows. Sad, most sad mistake, 
Which should be pondered well upon 
Until the gibbet, like the stake, 

Be banished—all machinery 

Life to destroy, be done away, 

And human life be valued far 

Too high to take by law or war. 

Yet was the Puritan sincere, 

Truth was to him than life more dear, 
For truth, or what he thought was such, 
He could not sacrifice too much ; 
Ease, country, kindred, all were nought 
Compared with the high good he sought ; 
Hardship and danger evils light 
Compared with compromising right, 
And conscience by obedience to . 
Whatever despots bid him do. 
Statesmen of ev’ry age, this trait 
Should study well and imitate. 


VIII. 


In olden times, the people here 
Were chiefly tillers of the ground, 

A calling to which most severe 
Labor attaches ;—but makes sound 


| * 70 
The body, and it schools the mind 
In honest purposes, and where 
Men till their own lov’d lands, we find 
A noble yeomanry, who are 
The firmest pillars of the State, 
The purest patriots of the land,— 
The stronghold of religion, great 
In all that can respect command. 
Here plastic clay the potter turned 
To pitcher, dish, jug, pot, or pan. 
As in his kiln this ware was burned, 
So burned the patriot in the man 
Into persistent shape ; which no 
Turning could change back into dough! 
It might be broken, ground to dust, 
But ne’er made ductile as at first. 
Here coopers wrought—housewrights a few, 
Tanners, who all were curriers too ;— 
Shoemakers, and some tailors, who, 
From house to house news-bearers went, 
Making, where’er they chanced to go, 
A joyous day ; for while intent 
On fitting small clothes, coat or shoe, 
Some thrilling tale they told unto 
Ears thirsting for the strange and true. 


The blacksmith’s shop did oft dispense 
With iron wares, intelligence— 
Food, recreation for the mind, ; 
e Which civilized, improved, refined, 
The mills, too, in those early times, 
Were schools, wherein much more was taught 
Than simply grinding corh ;—there minds 


Some clue to useful knowledge caught. 


Well, well do I remember when 

Our millers were distinguished men,— 
The honor’d Colonel Hutchinson, 
Foster, and Deacon Gideon,* 


* Gen. Gideon Foster and Deacon Gideon Putnam, Esq. 


71 


Than whom this town, in worth or fame, 
Few nobler as her sons can claim, 

Oft serv’d their mills, as faithfully 

As elsewhere, Freedom, Liberty. 

And did not boys, who weekly went 

* To get their corn made meal, intent, 
Receive from millers such as these — 
Impressions that would make them wise,— 
Whose influence would never cease 

To check false pride and save from vice ? 


The clergy, too, made reverend by 
Their office, and the dress they wore ; 
By band and surplice. O how high 
Above their flock these shepherds soar ! 
Yet preachers of humility, 
And humble too allowed to be; 
Assuming dignity, that they 
Might wield a salutary sway, 
O’er minds forever prone to bow 
To rank, to pomp, to empty show ; 
To whom this truth is seldom known— 
‘* Where least of state, there most of love is shown.” 


Schoolmasters, too, were oft austere, 
They ruled by birch and not by love ;— 
Men of great courage, using fear 
As the chief instrument t’ improve 
The minds and hearts of docile youth— 
To drive them to the Fane of Truth! 
Fear, fear, which has in every age, 
From every stand-point on life’s stage, 
From pulpit to primary school, 
Been used the multitude to rule,— 
At best is a debasing power 
Fitted the intellect to lower, 
Rather than elevate. The soul, 
Unless praise, courage, hope control 
Its destinies, must ever be 
Sinking in helpless misery. 


72 


O preacher, teacher! *tis by love 

God rules, in mercy rules above. 

More and more like him strive to be ; 
From every fear your pupils free. 

By love alone excite, persuade 

To duty, calling to thy aid 

Whatsoever things are true, 

Of good report, just, honest, pure. 

These with untiring industry pursue, 
Discard the rod, your scholars’ love secure. 


IX. 


One hundred years ago, or more, I ween, 
Fashions, unlike the present here, were seen,— 
Less luxury in diet, habitude, and dress ; 

More industry, and nerve-ache vastly less ; 
Greater exposure to the sun and air, 

Fewer pale cheeks ;—consumptions far more rare. 
One hundred years ago, the spinning wheel, 
Hatchel and cards, the loom, the old clock reel, 
On which her daughters and the serving maid, 
From morn till night, far sweeter music made, 
To thrifty housewife’s ears, than now proceeds 
From thrum’d pianos, and wind-fretted reeds,* 
Vibrating, whistl’ing to the nervous touch 

Of amateur performers, overmuch 

Luxuriating in the lap of ease ;— 

Feasting on dainty sounds,—sweet melodies, 
Which neither fit the head or hand to wield, 

In life’s great battle, either sword or shield ; 

But leave the helpless, enervated thing 

We call a lady, subject to the sting 

Of every puny insect that she meets ;— 
Robbing her life flowers of their choicest sweets. 
Music, however good, was ne’er designed 

To be the daily task of woman kind ;— 

To take the place of labor, which alone 

Can give the nerves a sound, right healthy tone ;— 
Can give the cheek the glowing tints of beauty, 
And fit the body for a mother’s duty. 


73 


To some, ’tis true, rare faculties are given 

To lift, by song, th’ enraptured soul to heaven ; 
Excite to love, soothe pain, or banish care, — 
To fire the soul heroic deeds to dare : 

To such, let music be their daily food ; 

‘Go, follow Nature,’ is a maxim good. 

But, few can hope, by modulating wind, 

To make themselves resemble Jenny Lind ; 
Nor can the mass of lower crust, or upper, 
Expect by song to win their daily supper ; 
Which to win somehow, we must hold to be 
The very essence of morality. 

God ne’er intended that an idle hand 

Should waste the plenty of hard toil-till’d land. 
To eat the fruit of the well cultur’d tree, 

By others planted, and not truly be 

Planting for others, is a shame and sin, 

And no one guiltless is, who rests therein. 


X. 


Old Time rolls backward, we have said, and lo! 

Danvers, as ’twas one hundred years ago, 

Appears before us. Let us walk around, 

And see what’s doing on this well-lov’d ground. 

We, if you please, will first direct our steps 

Unto the mansion of ’Squire Daniel Eppes ; 

An old farm house, two seven-feet stories high, 
A lean-to on behind, a spacious chimney too, . 


Which ten feet square at least must occupy ; 

A. lesser space would never, never do ! 
A well-stock’d barn, and a good well near by, 
Which, with its curb, crotch, sweep, pole, bucket, all 
Is picturesque, and quite poetical. 
Near by is seen a winter-sweeting tree, 
Destined, in after-times, renowned to be 
Parent of apple orchards, widely fam’d, 
And for our town, the Danvers Sweeting nam’d. _ 
Here in armed chair, before a cheerful fire, 
Writing, or reading, sits the worthy Squire ; 


10 


74 


Beside him sits his consort, plump and fair, 
Sewing or knitting in her cushion’d chair— 
Their comely daughter Mary carding tow, 
Large heaps of rolls her strength of muscle shows, 
And that her cards she has learn’d well to play, 
Good proof is given by her work to-day. 
The younger Daniel’s robust consort too 
Is doing much, and still has much to do; 
In every task she takes an ample share, 
Altho’ the loom is her peculiar care. 
Obedient to her feet, her hands, her eyes, 
The treadles move, slaie swings, and shuttle flies ; 
The growing web beneath her magic sway, 
Strip’d, check’d or damask-draper’d, each day 
Gives joyous promise, to the inmates there, 
Of raiment fit, and good for them to wear 
On all occasions, through the coming year ;— 
Better than boughten stuffs, tho’ not so dear. 
Her oldest son is winding quills,—one more 
Plays with the kitten on the chamber floor,— 
Now spins his top, now turns the swifts, or reel,— 
The busiest urchin of the commonweal. 
But now the day is closing upon all, 
One runs, obedient to her duty’s call, 
To milk the cows; another, o’er the fire 

Hangs the good kettle, sifts the yellow meal, 
And as the flame does lovingly aspire 

Around the cauldron, stirs the pudding well. 
Upon another trammel hangs a pot, 
Containing good bean porridge, piping hot, 
From which the Squire his ev’ning meal will make, 
In preference to the fare the others take. 
The second Daniel comes, all over tow, 

With the last bundle of well-swingled flax, 
His winter’s hardest task accomplished now ; 

His face, to beam with gladness, nothing lacks * 
Save a good washing, which is quickly done ; 
As quick, a change of raiment is put on ; 
And the Town Clerk of Danvers takes his chair 
And bowl of pudding, with a graceful air ;— 


75 


Pats his boys’ heads, as they beside him stand,— 
Meets his wife’s look of love with smile as bland, 
Greets his sweet sister, as, with busy broom, 

She sweeps the floor, and sets to rights the room ; 
Observes her nervous movement, and suspects 
That she some wooing visitor expects. 

Their evening meal is gratefully enjoyed— 
Around the table, busily employed, 

All hands are seated, and the book or pen, 
Sewing or knitting, is resumed again. 

A rap comes on the door ;—Lo! Mary’s face 
Cover’d with blushes indicates a case 

Not yet develop’d. To the kind ‘* Walk in,” 
Door opes—voice enters, ‘‘ Mr. Eppes within ? 

I want to see him.” Mr. Eppes goes out 

To see who ’tis, and what he’s come about. 
There learns, by stammer’d words and bashful look, 
John Osborn wants to marry Mary Cook ; 

And that the banns should duly published be ; ' 
But, until published, kept most secretly. 

Another rap. Blushes again spread o’er 

Sweet Mary’s face now deeper than before ; 

In, Mr. Proctor, a young neighbor, drest 

In Sunday-suit, comes as an evening guest,— 
Bows to the ladies,—shakes hands with the men, 
Says, ‘Spring-like weather’s come,”—and then 
Sits down, coughs chokingly—essays 

To speak,—hems,—awkwardness displays 

In posture,—sits uneasy,—answers slow 

Some questions asked him,—simply yes or no ; 
Until assur’d by meeting their kind looks, 

That he at least is among friendly folks, 

He talks of farmers’ prospects,—sheep and kine,— 
Oxen and horses,—and prolific swine ; 

How best to plough his lands, and how manure,— 
How right good crops to cultivate, secure ;— 
Until the evening, wearing fast away, 

Suggests the question, how long will he stay ? 
But why does Mary silently retire, 

And in the best room kindle up a fire ? 


76 


Now Proctor bids the family good-bye,— 
Meets Mary in the entry, but O why 
Goes he not out directly, but till late 
Holds with the buxom girl a tete-a-tete ? 
Experienced lovers might perhaps explain, 
How moulding into oneness are the twain,— 
A process by life’s richest feelings blest,— 
Feelings, which cannot be by words exprest,— 
Or to the sagest human mind made known, 
Till by experience they shall be his own. 
No further then into their doings pry, 
Which are too sacred for the public eye. 
One word of caution only will I add 
To the pert damsel and the thoughtless lad. 
{Indulge in no flirtations ; they destroy: 
The power to relish life’s most luscious joy ; 
Those only wedlock’s highest bliss can know, 
Who on one object all their love bestow ; 
When once you’ve fix’d your choice, O never, never, 
Indulge the thought that you can change it ever. ~ 
Hark, do I not a whisper’d murmur hear,-- + 

‘O call you that a picture of the past ? 
‘If so, it often has been copied here ; 

‘I’ve known one like it made since April fast ! 
‘ Yonder the couple sit, who now are feeling 
‘ All the fresh rapture of young love’s revealing.’ 


XI. 


Next, to the Village Church let us repair,— 
A queer old sombre structure, nearly square, 
With a four-sided roof, surmounted by 
Its own epitome, a square belfry, 
In which a little bell, securely hung, 
Is by depending rope in broad aisle rung ; 
With “ lime and hair,” side walls are overspread, 
But there’s no plaster’d canopy o’erhead ; 
There naked timbers meet the vagrant eye, 
And ornamental posts, in number four, 
Depending from the lofty tower on high, 
Point threat’ning downwards to the central floor : 


TT 


On one side of the aisle are seats for men, 

And on the other, seats and a sheep pen 

For good old women. There to warm tneir feet 

Was seen an article now obsolete,— 

A sort of basket tub of braided straw, | 
Or husks, in which is placed a heated stone, 

Which does half-frozen limbs superbly thaw, 
And warm the marrow of the oldest bone ; 

Side galleries, too, there are for boys and men, 

And women young ;—a cock-loft negro pen, 

Where the degraded slave might sit and hear 

‘Truths, which the bondsman’s sinking heart might cheer ; 

Beneath the pulpit is the deacons’ seat, 

Where faces shine with piety replete ;— 

Reflect the lights, which from the pulpit fall,— 

Reflect and send them to the hearts of all. 

Good parson Clarke, in pulpit preaching there, 

Gives full two hours to sermon and to prayer ; 

And the long psalm, by lined-out couplets sung, 

The tune more model’d by the nose than tongue, 

Made a protracted meeting in cold weather, 

More penance-like than pastime altogether. 

The morning meeting o’er, good boys and men, 

Who cannot well go home and come again 

To worship in the afternoon, repair 

To Mrs. Cross’, and eat luncheon there, 

Which they have bro’t from home ; but buy and sip 

A mug of toddy or of well-spiced flip ; 

Some gingerbread or biscuit ;—thus they give 

Some compensation for what they receive, 

The room that holds them, and the fire that warms,— 

Cozy asylum, full of quiet charms. 

Here the long sermon well they criticise,— 

Discuss the various topics which comprise 

The lore of village farmers,—get the news, 

And useful knowledge seek, acquire, diffuse. 

Albeit, rev’rence for the holy day 

Puts all light thoughts and vanities away. 

By girls ahd women too the noontime’s spent 

At Mrs. Dempsy’s, who is well content 


78 


To gather round her fire the shivering dames, 

For they bring with them what will feed its flames. 

Here as they pack away their bread and cheese, 

They give imprison’d thoughts a free release,— 

The current scandals of the day con o’er, 

Despatch the old, and manufacture more. 

The little bell now calls them in again, 

To shiver two hours more in seat or pen ; 

Then some on foot go wallowing thro’ the snow, 
Two on one horse, or many in a sleigh, 

To their dear homes ; whose firesides warmly glow, ~ 
And supper waits ; there sanctify the day. 

And to confirm their faith in their own ism, 

Read Bible, Psalm-book, and the Catechism ; 

And thus secure a week’s supply of good, 

Hard to digest, tough theologic food. 


XII. 


Another scene a gathering shows, 
Of people from some miles around ; 
Why, why are timber, ‘boards and chips 
Strewn all about their meeting ground ? 


Why? Do’n’t you know that Mister Smith 
Has bidden them, to help him raise 

A new frame-house, in which he hopes 
To spend the remnant of his days ? 


And all have come, men, women, boys,— 
And, lo! the timbers briskly move, 

And in the framework meet, embrace, 
United by compulsive love. 


Once, twice, the merry raisers pause 

To take of drink each man his dole,— 
The work is all complete, except 

The putting on the ridge its pole. 


“19 


This the workmen cannot lift ! 
‘Send up a bottle filled with rum,’— 

They drink,—it operates a charm,— 
The timber to its place has come. 


And on that dizzy ridge-pole high 
Th’ excited climber boldly sits, 
The bottle swings, and, ’mid hurrahs, 

Dashes that. bottle all to bits ! 


- While thus were occupied the men, 
The women have a table spread 

With cider, cold ham, fish and cheese, 
Doughnuts, baked beans, and good brown bread. 


All to this table now repair, 
And of this cold*collation eat ; 
And story tellers, too, are there, 
To furnish forth a mental treat. 


Among them, witty parson Holt, 
With old Jo Smith, in stories vies ; 

The first deals in embellished truth, 
The latter, in romantic lies. 


A ring, a ring,—some wrestl’rs new 
Athletic skill, strength, prowess try,— 
Some run and jump, some dance and sing, 


And close the day right merrily. 


XIif. 


A husking. Heaps of gathered corn, 
Long rows of lads and lasses gay, 
Old men, boys, maids, gay or forlorn, 
Intent on mingling work and play. 


Sweet cider goes around, and flip 

Makes bright eyes sparkle brighter still,— 
The joke, loud laughter, and the song 

The scene with jocund noises fill. 


80 


A red ear, got by roguish swain, 
Gives him the right to seize and kiss 
Each blushing maid, unless repulsed 
By smutty ear, or sturdy miss. 


The old men, garrulous, relate 
To youngsters, of old times a tale ;— 
Husks rustle, stalks and corn cobs crack, 
Mirth, love, and jollity prevail. 


The labor done, the festive board 
Is for the hungry huskers spread ; 
The supper o’er, the elders all 
Their well-known pathways homeward tread ; 


While the young folks on Pompey call, 
And gladly make a longer stay, 

The supper-room becomes a hall 
Well filled with spirits young and gay. 


Horsehair to catgut Pomp applies, 
And, grinning much, his iv’ry shows, 
With foot and body keeping time,— 
‘The dancing stream of pleasure flows. 
No grand cotillions brought from France, 
No waltz or polka then they knew ; 
But good old-fashioned jigs and reels 
They lustily could shuffle thro’. 


XIV. 


The spinning bee together calls 
Th’ artificers of thread ; 

And a right merry time have they 
As they the pedals tread. 


The humming wheels, the merry chat, 
Songs, riddles, and what not ? 

Beguile the time,—till, flax all spun, 
The supper in is brought. 


81 


Then come the beaux and fiddler too,— 
A merry scene ensues, 

Which even into icy hearts 
Can warmth and love infuse. 


Then there is old election day, 
To ev’ry child so dear, 

Which crowns the charms of flow’ry May, 
And gladdens half the year! 


And can it be that scenes like these 
Will soon no more be known ? 

Years, actors, fashions, frolics, all 
Gone, gone, forever gone ! 


Well, other fashions, follies, fun 
These pastimes will replace, 
And triflers never lack the means 
To spend their day of grace. 


xv 


On by-gone pastimes no more lines I waste, 
But to some biographic sketches haste 

Of sons of Danvers, known on hist’ry’s page, 
Who’ve left their mark upon the passing age, 
Asking indulgence for omissions, while 

I in prosaic cataloguing style, 

Bring to remembrance a few honor’d names, 
Who have on us this day peculiar claims. 


John Endicott and his descendants brave, 
Some on the land, some on the rolling wave 
Of commerce borne,—in ey’ry useful art 
Have battled nobly, acted well their part. 


John Proctor, he who was for witchcraft hung, 
On this occasion must not go unsung ; 
Is it unnatural to suppose that he 
Was gifted with the gift of prophecy, 
11 


82 


As death approached ; and, looking down his line, 
Saw his descendants live, and life resign ;— 
Saw all that has transpired, or will transpire, 
In Salem, Danvers, till consumed by fire ; 
Or buried deep, ’neath mountains overthrown, 
All that now lives, or is, shall be unknown ? 
Condemned in prison, on his pallet lying, 

The good man moaned, in agony of prayer, 
‘Upon the gibbet must I soon be dying, 

‘ The felon’s shame without his guilt to share ; 
'*O God, why is it?’ Banishing the gloom 
Exceeding glory lighted up the room ; 

An angel stood before him, and a voice 

Cried, ‘ Fear not, mourn not, but be glad, rejoice, 
‘ That thou art worthy thus to have been tried,— 
‘ Worthy to die, as thy dear Saviour died, * 

‘In innocence,—rise, come with me, 

‘ Thou shalt God’s goodness in the future see ; 
‘Deluded men thy body kill_—but shame = 
‘Is theirs, not thine. To thee immortal fame 
‘Shall be accorded. Let thy conduct brave 

‘ Check the delusion, and thy consort save. 

‘ Yes, wife and offspring from the grave redeem, 
‘God a kind Father is, however stern he seem.’ 
With these kind words he took me to the hill, 
Where soon I must my destiny fulfil ; 

And there the future opened to my view, 
Proving that all his words were strictly true : 
Dark clouds of error slowly rolled away, 

And hill and dale in truth’s bright sunlight lay. 

I saw restored my desolated home, 

And to its cradle a new tenant come ; 

Who, by his little acts of filial love, 

Does from his mother’s heart its wo remove. 
For, when it rises with o’erwhelming sway, 
That little prattler wiles her grief away ;— 

And when for me her scalding tears are poured, 
That little urchin smiles, and, peace restored, 

{s nestl’ing in her bosom ;—ne’er before 

Knew I an infant’s archangelic power. 


83 


Time flies ;—that wife lies buried by my side, 
Each son has to the altar led his bride ; 

They too have passed thro’ scenes of joy and grief, 
And from life’s cares have found in death relief. 
Their children’s children,—a wide-spreading stream 
Of human life, have come and gone ;—a gleam 
Fitting in vision o’er my dazzled sight, 

Now less distinct, now full of life and light. 

One of majestic form among them all,* 

Of stoutest frame, and stalwart mind withal, 

Was formed, ’twould seem, armies to train and lead. 
In youth a soldier,—yet thro’ life, indeed, 

A man of peace, in peaceful scenes employed ; 

A farmer’s life he honored, and enjoyed 

To good old age ;—and when the “ drop serene” 
Shut from his ardent gaze each sunlight scene, 
Light still was on his mental vision poured, 

Thro’ other mediums, arid much knowledge stored 
Up in his mind; a treasure, which may be 

Perhaps his solace through eternity. 

But other scenes and things before me pass, 

As in what seems a true prophetic glass— 

The anti-witchcraft people get the day, 

Send parson Parris and his imps away. 


{ see and wonder, how for principle 

The ever-ruling concentrated will 

Of a few people, can and will maintain 

Their rights assailed, and greater freedom gain, 
From every effort made to put them down, 

By church or state, by mitre or by crown. 

With what great care they guard their precious State 
*Gainst French and Indians,—perils small or great ; 
’Gainst adverse tenets springing up to bind, 

In chains of error, the immortal mind ;— 

’Gainst Power-Prelatic, from which they had fled, 
And from whose scourge they yet have much to dread ;— 
’Gainst Power-Despotic, watching for its prey, 

And always ready to snatch rights away ;— 


* Johnson Proctor, who died November, 1851, aged 86. 


84 


Against each other’s avarice and guile, 
Which can a brother cruelly despoil,—  ° 
Yet ’mid these toils and pains, condition hard, 
’>Gainst bear and panther, flocks and children guard ; 
Labor for bread, churches and schools to plant, 
Provide with foresight wise for every want ; 
Yet, ’mid these cares and constant labors, find 
Time t’ improve the heart, to educate the mind,— 
To cherish social virtue, and make home 
A lodge, to which the holiest pleasures come ;— 
A temple, where their God may worshipped be, 
With pure devotion, without pageantry. — 
The followers of principle, they go 
Where’er it leads, be it through joy or woe. 
Their friends are its friends, and as enemies 
They treat all, who that principle despise ; 
Be that despiser parent, wife, or son, | 
They should be sacrificed, and it is done ! 
The friend, that yesterday was held most dear, 
To-day apostate, banished from their sphere. 
The crown of England, next to God adored, 
Is trod in dust, dishonored and abhorr’d ; 
Because that crown their principles assails, 
All its time-honored prestige naught avails. 
Without remorse, the glittering bauble spurned, 
Their hopes are now to a republic turned. 
And that republic, should it not secure 

The people’s rights, must meet the people’s wrath, 
Bits, freeborn spirits will not long endure, 

Tho’ golden bribes strew thick the prescrib’d path ; 
Th’ elected, who, to principles shall prove 
False, will not long retain th’ electors’ love ; 
Unless corrupted all the people be, 
Scorn must pursue the guilt of treachery, 
Nor cease pursuit, until, beneath a mound 
Of infamy, the traitor’s corpse be bound ; 
The higher his great intellect may soar, 
Deeper he sinks, despised and hated more. 
So falls New England’s once most honored son, 
The talented high-tory Hutchinson ; 


85 


So Arnold falls. Other bright names I see 
Paling their glory,—false to Liberty ! 
Brighter by contrast, Freedom’s martyrs rise 
And shine as stars forever in the skies. 


Inur’d to war, and all its dire alarms, 
They worship, work and sleep upon their arms. 
- Their foes to meet, in parley or in fray, \ 
To treat or fight, at.all times ready they ; 
Believing God would all their efforts bless, 
Their deeds are mighty, and crown’d with success ; 
Wide-spreading as prophetic eye can see, 
Grows, crows the Empire of the Rich and Free. 


In all the wondrous movements I have named, — 
For Danvers’ sons an ample share is claimed 
First to resist their king in arms ;—lo, they 
Frighten his troops from their good town away. 
And when a second visit they propose, 

In arms, they Leslie at North Bridge oppose,— 
Beyond their borders meet the coming foes ; 
And when, upon that memorable day, 

When blood first flow’d in fratricidal fray 

At Lexington, among the first to meet 

And harass Britain’s troops, on their retreat, 
Were Danvers boys; who sixteen miles had run 
To strike for freedom ; and ’twas bravely done. 
‘But of their number, seven never more 

Will fight their country’s battles. In their gore 
Their bodies sleep,—their deathless spirits live, 
A sterner impulse to the war to give. 

In a momentous cause,—first sacrifice,— 

Their fame and influence with that cause shall rise ~ 
And spread, till tyranny shall die, 

And all mankind enjoy true liberty. 

On ev’ry field where victory was won, 

The sons of Danvers stood by Washington,— 
_{n action and in suffering bravely bore 

Their part, until, the bloody struggle o’er, 
They home returned, to win, by arts of peace, 
Respect and honor, dignity and ease. 


e 


86 


Danvers, perhaps, will long more noted be 

For thrift, strong arms, stout hearts, and industry, 
Than for distinguished geniuses, who there 

First see the light,—first breathe the vital air ; 
Or for distinguished literary men, 

Who move the world by power of tongue or-pen. 
Yet not entirely destitute of these. 

For artists, there the eye prophetic sees, 

Of whom their native town may proudly boast, 
Smith, Nichols, Poole. Of poets too a host, 
Whose gems not less effulgent are, I ween, 
Because they shine by the great world unseen. 
Nor shall the least of these miss his reward 
Because Fame’s book may not his name record ; © 
The orgasm and th’ afflatus are his own, 
Although the pleasure be enjoyed alone ! 


* * * * * 


One hundred sixty years pass quickly by, 

And a grand pageant meets the gladdened eye. 
Danvers a town a century complete, 

Her sons and daughters all have met to greet 
Their mother on her birth-day, hear her story, 
Count up her jewels and exalt her glory. 

Each form of costume of that hundred years 
Again upon some living bust appears ; 

And living beauties walk the streets arrayed 
In bridal robes for great-great-grandmas made. 


The ancient and the modern, side by side, 
Together walk, or in procession ride. 
The Arts and Artizans, in grand array, 
A cent’ry’s changes and improvements show.. 
The Fire department makes a great display, 
And sixteen Public Schools a grand tableaux. 
There fifteen hundred “ buds of promise” greet 
Admiring thousands ranged along the street. 
Five bands of martial music fill the air 
With melodies sweet, racy, rich and rare. 
Flags, pennons, wreaths of evergreen and flowers, 
O’erarch the streets and decorate car-bowers, 


= 


87 


"Neath which some scene of other days is shown,— 
Some ancient féte to modern eyes made known ; 
Some olden workshop with its clumsy tools. 
Thus in strong contrast placed the old and new,— 
Modern and ancient teachers with their schools ; 
Ancient and modern witchcraft-workers too. 


Now to the church the multitude repair, 

There listen to oration, hymns and prayer. 

Proud may I be, for I distinctly hear 

The voice of my descendant, loud and clear, 

Defending me, and dealing stunning blows 

On Cotton Mather, in heroic prose ! 

Now to the children’s tent, a lovely show, 

The gaily-costumed, happy children go ; 

There drink iced water, eat fruit, pie or cake, 

Listen to cheering homilies,—partake 

- Of all the joys of this great jubilee, 

By them the longest to remembered be. 

Next to a mammoth tent,—the festive board, 

With an abundance of good dishes stored, 

Moves the procession, and, all seated there, 

Discuss the viands, and delighted share 

The mental treat, which they, by speech and song, 

And music, to the sunset-hour prolong. 

No wine is used or needed,—water, now, 

Is all the wine that best carousals know, 

And festive scenes no longer end in rows, 

Or friends at parting bid farewell with blows. 

And for this great reform much praise is due 

To sons of Danvers, who, to duty true, 

Have bravely battled in the Temp’rance cause, 
By precept and th’ enforcement of good laws. 


* *¥ ¥ * * 


XVI. 


John Putnam and his sons before us stand,— 
A host to people and defend the land. 
Methinks I see the reverend patriarch now, 
Prophetic fire is burning on his brow. 


88 


He sees, as other seers see, 

Dimly, his great posterity. 

Out from his loins agoing forth 

To east, to west, to south, to north, 

In strength and beauty lands to till ;— . 

To exercise mechanic skill ;— 

Shine in the senate,—bravely wield 

Their weapons on the battle field ;— 
Benches of justice fill with fame, 

In pulpits win a rev’rend name ; 

In med’cine and its kindred arts 

To act right skilfully their parts,— 

In commerce, on the mighty deep,— 
Command her ships, her treasures keep. 

In short, wherever enterprise 

Seeks wealth or wisdom, Putnams rise ; 
Among competitors contend 

For honors, wealth, or man’s chief end. 
Here now flowers, leaves, and fruit we see 
Abundant on the Putnam tree; _ 

And so prehensile are its branches grown, 
They make the fruit of other trees their own. 
Yes, circulating now through Putnam veins, 
Is all the blood of Holten that remains. 

And yet my muse would not presume to say, 
To other stocks it does no tribute pay. 
Indeed, it has been known to soften Flint, 
To harden into Stone, and by the dint 

Of vital chemistry to give Goodale 

A spicy flavor, and on Towns entail 

A host to be supported. Turn to Page, 

And write its history on the passing age ; 

Or change to Cole, to Black, to White, 

To Brown, to Green, or glad the house of Knight. 
And to it humbler names may doubtless trace 
Some great improvement in their lineal race. 
Rich Putnam blood is in the market still, 
Look round, young friends, and purchase it who will ! 


Next to the Putnam, lo, the Osborn tree | 
Lifts high its branches, spreads its foliage free. _ 


* 


89 


_ Deep-rooted in the soil of Danvers,—long, 
Long may it grow, more graceful, branching, strong. 
In every public deed, or town affair, 

Osborns have figured in for a full share. 

To acts of which we now most proudly feel, 
They gave their labor, set their hands’ seal,— 
For the good things around us clustering now, 
Much we to them and others like them owe. 
But ’tis, perhaps, impossible to say, 

Of many Osborns, which one, on this day, ° 
Deserves our highest eulogy ; for none 

Is high above his fellows seen alone. 


XVII. 


Of Danvers-born, no one in lucky hour, 

Ere reached so high a pinnacle of power, 
As Doctor Holten. None so long and well 
His country served. Of none our annals tell 
So rich a story ; none has carved his name 
So high upon the monument of Fame. 

*T was not so much to a superior mind, 

As *twas to manners affable and kind,— 

A heart from which the milk of kindness puted 
A love, which all the evil passions hushed ,— 
A reverence for religion, and the laws 

Of liberty, fraternity,—because 

He made all others in his presence feel 
Themselves respected and respectable ;— 
Because he seemed to all their frailties blind, 
To love and rev’rence all of human kind,— 
That we ascribe his honors. Such a life 

Of quiet glory in an age of strife,— 

The peaceable supporter of a host, 

Whose daring battles are our country’s boast, 
Is worth our study. Eloquence profound, 
Persuasive, silent, in which thoughts abound, 
Although unspoken,—eloquence of looks 
Was his. Of wisdom he lived many books, 
But none he wrote ; nor has he left behind 

A printed picture of his active mind. 


12 “ 


4 


90 


He no deseendants left his name to bear. 
Where are our Holtens? Echo answers, where ? 


Here let us pause, and one short moment dwell 
Upon the honored name of John Kettell ; 
A father of the town,—a father too 

Of the shoe manufacture,—music’s son,— 
The village chorister,—to nature true 

He touched a chord in others’ hearts, that won 
Applause and honor. He left sons, but they 
Shone bright a little while, then passed away. 
And of their children only one remains, 
To whom the sire’s cognomen still pertains. 
Cases like these prove the old saying true, 
‘*¢ Shadows we are and shadows we pursue.” 
The like of us, perhaps, may soon be said, 
All our most cherished hopes and longings dead ! 


Of Captain Page much might be said in praise, 
The patriot-valor of his early days,— 

His industry and enterprise,—a life 

With all domestic, social virtues rife ; 

So full of deeds by every heart approved, 

Can be remembered only to be loved, 


Of Caleb Oakes, it may be truly said, 
No better man lies with our honored dead. 
A widow’s son,—sole architect was he 
Of his own fortune, character and fame. 
As the reward of honest industry, 
To him, unsought, wealth and its influence came : 
And these were valued only for the power 
They gave, to aid some useful enterprise,— 
To save from want and sin the suff’ring poor, 
Or say, to downcast and despairing souls, ‘ — 
‘ Battle again for all the goods of life, 
‘Up boldly! be a hero in the strife.’ 
He of religion no profession made, 
But liv’d the thing, and gave material aid 
Its ministrations to extend, where’er 
They needed were to edify and cheer ; 


91 


Without regard to Shibboleths of sect, 
Treating all modes of faith with due respect. 


His Son, a genius rare, eccentric,—blest 
Or cursed with nerves, which never let him rest ; 
But urged him onward with resistless force, 
In a high moral, scientific course. 
Lover of Nature, in her every phase, 
She veiled no beauties from his searching gaze. 
Air, ocean, earth, with teeming wonders fraught, 
Rich treasures to his mind unceasing brought, | 

_ Alike the winter stern, or blushing spring,— 
The summer’s heat, or autumn’s offering ; 
Long as New England’s Flora clothes her fields, 
Or the White Mountains choicest blossoms yields ; 
Or the Ideean vine its berries bear,* 
Or robes of gold our hills in July wear ; 
Long as, on ocean’s strand, the pearly shells 
Reveal the depths, where unseen beauty dwells ;— 
So long shall William Oakes’ remembered name 
Honor his birthplace by his world-wide fame. 


The Flints, surcharged with manhood’s ’lectric fire, 
Have done good service to the state and town,— 
Struck the hot spark, and bid the flame aspire, 
Which burnt the cords, which bound us to the crown 
Of England,—gave us courage to be free, 
To struggle for and win our Liberty, 
For this, a Flint pour’d out his precious blood, 
Which went to swell Stillwater’s crimson’d flood. 
Nor -will we fail another Flint to name, 
Who, as shipmaster, won both wealth and fame ; 


* An allusion to his discovery of the Vaccinium Vitis Idea in Danvers, a 
rare plant in Massachusetts. 

A letter from the White Mountains, the present season, notices Wm. Oakes 
as follows :—“ One of the most singular and mysterious spectacles is Grand 
Gulf, or, as it is now called, Oakes’ Gulf. It is named for the late William 
Oakes, the Botanist. Wherever a rare flower blossoms in the whole range of 
. this mountainous country, from Alton Bay to Cherry Pond and Israel’s River, 
the name of Wm. Oakes is familiarly spoken. His old guide showed me 
where he used to collect his mosses and lichens, and all his Alpine specimens 
of plants, in preparing a Flora of Alpine species—specimens so intrinsically 
valuable to his own exhaustless thirst for botanical discoveries, which were no 
where else to be found in any place nearer than Greenland.” 


92 


Who, being captur’d by French picaroon, 

Retook his ship, and brought her home alone ;— » 

In later life bade farewell to the seas, 

And spent his days in dignity and ease, 

With dearest objects, and affections warm, 

Within the bounds of his lov’d, well-till’d farm. 

Or as a legislator, neighbor, friend, 

His life devoted to life’s noblest end,— 

An end, which peace and consolation brings 
To dying men, and peacefully he died,— 

Leaving his blood to run in veins of Kings, 
Extinct and lost to every name beside. 


The name of Felton, too, by many here, 
In reminiscence must be held ‘most dear. 
One, our Town Clerk for twenty-eight full years, 
A Selectman as long,—and for fifteen, 
A Representative,—among compeers 
Highly respected, must have been, I ween, 
Worthy a place in our centennial song, 
Worthy a place in hearts, that well him knew, 
For friends ne’er met him but he kept them long. 
For his was humor, wit, and wisdom too. 
His manners gentle, his affections strong, 
In Nature’s quiet gifts surpassed by few. 


XVIII. 


To paint the elder oy the younger Shove, 

As seen in life among us, is above 

My skill artistic ; much, yes, much I fear 

My charcoal sketch preposterous appear. 

The elder sits, as oft he sat of yore, 

Upon the step or threshold of his door, 

Watching each stranger passing through the street ; 
Whom he with nod or fitting phrase would greet : 

‘‘ How art thou, friend? Methinks I’ve seen thy face 
Somewhere before, but can’t recall the place— 
Where from ?” ‘* From Leicester.” ‘‘ Leicester? let me see. 
I know some people there,—one Magery.” 


93 


*¢ Yes, sir, I know him well,” ‘‘ How does he speed 
In business now?” ‘I do not know, indeed ;— 
Some say he’s getting rich, and others say, 

They guess he’ll fail yet, some unlucky day.” 

** Well, if he fails, I think my debt secure; _ 

If not, I know well how to make it sure. 

What brings thee hither? some old friends to see ? 
Or other business? May be, I might be 

Of service to thee.” “ Paper, sir, I sell.” 

*¢]’d like to see thy paper, friend, right well.” 

*‘ Here, look at this,—’tis twenty cents a quire. 

A discount by the ream,—the price was higher ; 
Tis foolscap, the best quality, trimm’d neat.” 

‘“* Yes, yes—but I prefer a wider sheet, 

So that in one straight line write this I may, 

For received value, promise I to pay 

Squires Shove—yet, I will try to make it do, 

If thee’ll take leather for a ream or two.” 

‘‘ | want no leather.” ‘ Well, then, thee may go ;— 
Thee lives in Leicester—Leicester, let me see, 
What party rules there?” ‘* Pure democracy.” 

‘“‘ Calls thee that stinking party, pure? Farewell— 
The next election we will whip thee well.” 

Here comes a man whose note has long been due, 
Who gladly would have shunn’d this interview, 

But dared not do it. ‘‘ Well, friend, come to pay 
That little note?” ‘I cannot, sir, to-day.” 

“I’m sorry for thee. What the plague dost thou 
Do with thy money? Can thee tell me how 

Thee spends it?” ‘Tis but little money that I get, 
I’ve made some losses, been unfortunate ; 

Money comes slow to single-handed labor : 

Oh, how I wish ten thousand dollars mine.” . 

“© T wish they were, I’d like to be thy neighbor.” 

A great debater he in politics ;— 

Could meet and foil an adversary’s tricks 

By tactics most peculiarly his own. 

He couch’d severest satire in a tone 

So mild, that words of harshest import were 

- But the melodious whisperings of air. 


94 


Once, overmatched by him in argument, 

A kid-glove politician, to affront 

Him, said, ‘‘ You are a tanner, I believe,” — 

“© V.e-s—but can curry, too, as you perceive.” 
As a friend faithful, as a neighbor kind, 

Parent indulgent, in charities behind 

None of his times. His garb, sectarian, sat 
Loosely about him, and his broad-brimm’d hat 
Assum’d a figure, which the more precise 
Might deem discordant with the Quaker guise. 


Such was the father, but his nobler Son, 

Who higher honors, but less money won,— 
Whose service, purse, great heart, and faithful hand, 
Were ever at a needy friend’s command ; 

Of social life, the ornament and-soul,— 

A man, indeed, in every station whole ;— 

How shall I paint him? Wise, astute, sincere, 
And yet not faultless, Who is faultless here ? 
Frailties he may have had,—a little pride,— 

“¢ But e’en his failings leaned to virtue’s side ;”— 
A manly beauty his, in form and face,— 

Most winning in his manners, full of grace,— 

Tn all his movements, gentleness and love 

Mark’d the demeanor of the younger Shove.* 


XIX. 


A jocose set of worthy men, 
In good old times, at Skelton’s Neck 
Were ready for a frolic when- 
Ever to fun they could direct 
Their joint observance. Captain Page, 
A Pindar, Fowler. Cheever, and 
Others who were their peers in age 
Always right ready to engage 
In every good word, work, or sport ;— 
The fathers they of Danvers-port. 


_* Hon. Jonathan Shove, who died Sept. 4, 1847, aged 54, in the meridian of 
hfe and usefulness, universally lamented. 


95 


Long, long may their descendants be 
Worthy their names and ancestry. 
Here, too, th’ eccentric Skidmore dwelt, 

Whose ready wit, keen, unrefined, 
Was sure to hit its mark, be felt, 

And leave its tickling sting behind. 
A true comedian genius, who, 

Had he been trained to walk the stage, \ 
With habits all ‘comedian too, 

He’d been the Matthews of his age. 
His power is not exhausted yet, 

For often, now, the laugh will rise 
Excited by old Skidmore’s wit, 

Recited from old memories. 
A patriot, too, his drum he beat 

In three wars at his country’s call. 
Beating the onset, not retreat, 

He came victorious out of all. 


XX, 


Among the living,—and long may he live 
T’ acquire the means most lib’rally to give 
Impulse to objects noble as his soul, 
And to exert o’er great events control 
Such as is given but to very few 
Of human kind,—is one we knew, 
A native Danvers school-boy,—need I name 
GrEorGE PEaBopy, a London banker ;—fame, 
Wealth, power are his,—yet, lov’d and honor’d more 
For just discrimination in the use 
And application of his ample store, 
Than for its vastness. Gather and diffuse— 
His motto. Unto him, we trust, ’tis given 
To show how rich men may get into heaven. 


*% + * * * 


Here in our midst we have our honored Poor, 
And Blacks, that often are preferr’d before 

The Whites. Although good democrats we are, 
Kings, Princes, Lords, our civic honors share. _ 


96 


Of Kings, with deep emotion one I name, 
Dear, dear to ev’ry heart his worth and fame, 
Daniel P. King,—who now among us here 
Does not to grace this jubilee appear. 

Though we as yet can hardly realize 

His spirit gone to mansions in the skies, 
Ne’er to return to earth,—to longer fill 

The place assigned him by the people’s will. 
To him, this day, no monument we raise,— 
Silence and tears now best express our praise. 
The recent lost shall long remembered be, 
And better eulogized next century ! 


Next century! O’erwhelming thought! O where 
Shall all be then, who now are active here ? 

And what will Danvers be ?—a city ?—or 

A town destroyed by earthquake, vice, or war ?— 
God only knows. Enough for us to know 

That virtue leads to peace, and vice to woe,— 
That sloth and dissipation steal away 

A people’s strength, and bring on sure decay,— 
While industry, sobriety and lore, 

Save and augment, of all good things, the store. 


* * *® x % 


Let every generation strive to be 
Greater and better than their fathers were ; 
So make and educate posterity, 
That they more nobly live—more bravely dare— 
Shrink from no duty—fear no tyrant’s nod— 
And offer purer worship to their God. 
So shall improvement in all useful arts,— 
In whatsoe’er to human souls imparts 
Wisdom, strength, beauty,—onward, upward move, 
Till all be rapt in everlasting love. 


DANVERS CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 


Tue One Hundredth Anniversary of the Separation of Danvers from 
Salem, and its existence as a distinct Municipal Corporation, was cele- 
brated by the citizens, in a spirited and patriotic manner, on Wednes- 
day, the 16th day of June, 1852, under the direction of a committee 
of arrangements, appointed by the town at a legal meeting holden at 
Granite Hall on Monday, the 22d day of September, 1851. 

At this meeting, the subject of celebrating the one hundredth anni- 
versary of the separation of the town of Danvers from Salem being 
under consideration, it was 

Voted, That a committee of nineteen,—five to be selected at large 
and one from each school district,—be chosen, with full authority to 
make such arrangements, and adopt such measures, in behalf of the 
town, as in their judgment shall be most appropriate to the occasion. 


COMMITTEE AT LARGE. 


Fitcu Poors, EBENEZER Hunt, 
Anprew NicHotLs, Joun W. Proctor, 
Rev. Mitton P. Braman. . 


FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 


No. 1. Rozert 8S. DanieE.s. No. 8. Sam’: Brown, Jr. 
“ 2. Samueu P. Fowter. ‘“ 9, JoserpH Brown. 

‘© 3. Aaron Putnam. ‘© 10. Leonarp Cross. 
“ 4, Atpert G. BRADSTREET. “ 11. Francis Baxker.. 
“© 5. NATHANIEL Pore. ‘6 12. Mites Ossorn. 

‘¢ 6. Moses PRESTON. ‘ 8613. Joun Pace. 

“ 67, Francis PHELPS. “6 14. GitBert TAPLEY. 


A sum of money, not to exceed five hundred dollars, was subse- 
quently voted by the town, to be applied by the committee to the 
objects of the proposed celebration. 

The committee appointed Dr. S. A. LORD, Chief Marshal of the 
day, who selected for his Aids, Messrs. Avucustus Towne and Joun 
B. Peapopy. | 

The day-was oppressively hot, but the rain of the precedthg day 
had.laid the dust, and the air was bland and clear. [rom an early 
hour in the morning, vehicles of all descriptions were pouring in from 
the neighboring towns, crowded with men, women and children, while 
each train of cars brought in its myriads; and by the time the pro- 
cession began to move, the spacious avenues were lined by a moving 
multitude of happy people, and the windows of the dwellings radiant 
with beaming eyes and smiling faces. 

13 


98 


The route of the procession was ornamented by flags of all nations, 
streamers, triumphal arches, bearing inscriptions, and decorated with 
evergreens and flowers. ‘The Lexington Battle Monument was hand- 
somely ornamented, and numerous houses displayed chaste decorations, 
Just at the dividing line between Salem and Danvers, a lamb was 
placed over the doors of W. Sutton’s and F. Poole’s stores on either 
Side of the street, one representing Danvers and the other Salem, 
Salem asks Danvers—‘* How old are you my child?” Danvers re- 
plies—“* Only one hundred years, mamma.” Danvers asks Salem— 
‘Will you please to come to my birthday party?’ Salem replies— 
‘‘ With the greatest pleasure, my dear.”’ ‘The streets along the route 
of the procession were crowded with delighted spectators, who, during 
the whole morning, had been pouring in from other towns to witness 
the celebration. | 

The procession was formed about 10 o’clock, and proved to be the 
great feature of the occasion. When put in motion it was nearly a 
mile and a half long, and embraced in its various divisions a most 
interesting, graphic, and truthful portraiture of the manners’ and cus- 
toms ef their ancestors; and by way of contrast, a representation of 
‘the progress and resources of the town at the present day. 

First in order came the escort, consisting of the Salem Mechanic 
Light Infantry, with the Salem Brass Band, under command of Capt. 
White. This corps came out with full ranks, and presented a fine 
military appearance. The Salem Light Infantry politely furnished a 
color guard for the occasion. 

The Danvers Fire Department next followed, a noble body of men, 
nearly four hundred strong, in gay uniforms, and with two full bands 
of music. The Chief Engineer of the Department acted as Chief 
Marshal, assisted by two of the Firewards as Aids, and fourteen 
mounted Marshals, appointed by the several companies. 


Joun V. Stevens, Chief Marshal. 


STEPHEN Osporn, SJr., Aida 
Epwin F. Putnam, 7 


. Moses CoapmMan, CHARLES INGALS. 
Henry Bususy, Jr., ALFRED Warp. 
. Epwarp Bnancuarp, Samvet Knicut. 


Engine No. 2 
3. 
4. 
6 ‘© 65. Cuarves A. Dearsorn, Dennison W. Ossorn. 
6 
7 
8 


66 66 
66 66 


6 ‘© 6. Samvuet Stapites, NatTHAN SuHaw, Jr. 
. Danie. J. Preston, SamMuEL WELCH. 
. Rogpert Daniets Jr., Wintuiam Sutton, Jr. ° 


66 66 


66 66 


' First in order came“ General Scott,’ No. 2, of Tapleyville ; this 
company was dressed in fire hats, plaided sacks, and black pants, and 
mustered forty-eight, under command of Capt. Calvin Upton. Their 
‘¢machine”’? was drawn by six black horses, and was tastefully deco- 
rated. Next came‘ Torrent”? No. 3, Capt. Philip L. Osborn, forty- 
five men}; uniform, red shirt, white pants with black bottoms; this 
engine was drawn by three bay horses, and appeared to advantage. 
‘General Putnam,” No. 4, of Danvers Plains, Capt. Allen, followed ; 
they mustered forty men, and were attired in plaided frock and black 


99 


pants; they carried a banner, on which was “ GENERAL PurTNam. 
I NEVER SURRENDER.” This engine also appeared well. Bond’s Cornet 
Band, of Boston, came next in order. ‘Eagle,’ No. 5, Capt. W.S. 
Osborn, followed, and appeared with forty-three men, dressed in taste- 
. ful and neat white jackets, trimmed with red, and black pants; their 
engine was drawn by four splendid cream-colored horses, and the 
engine was beautifully decorated. ‘* Ocean,” No. 6, of Danvers Port, 
Capt. Welch, came next, and had thirty-five men in the ranks, dressed 
in white shirts, black pants, and Kossuth hats; this engine was drawn 
by two roan horses. “General Foster,” No.7, Capt. Calvin Pierce, 
came next, mustering thirty-one men, attired in red jackets and black 
pants; this company carried a banner, splendidly painted, in front 
representing the great fire in the square, and on the reverse, ** General 
Foster Engine Company, No. 7, 1849.” This engine was drawn by 
three gray horses, and on the “ tub” was a portrait of the old General, 
whose name the engine bears. By some’ misunderstanding this com- 
pany did not go the entire route of the procession. Next came Felton’s 
Salem Brass Band, in a new and neat uniform. ‘* Volunteer,” No. 8, 
Director Littlefield, with forty-one men, followed, dressed in red jackets 
and black pants; this ‘tub’? was drawn by six black horses, and was 
splendidly decorated. 

Next came the civic procession, preceded by Chief Marshal Lorn, 
and his Aids, Messrs. Towne and Peasopy, with the following gen- 
tlemen as Assistant Marshals :— 


M. T. Dote, CHARLES Doe, 
GEORGE P. DANIELS, FE.DWARD STIMPSON, 
Ira P. Pope, THEODORE POOLE, 


GeorGeE M. TEEL. 


The following Marshals were appointed to preserve order at the 


Church :— 


Cuar.es Estes, Joun W. Hupparp, 
Isaac B. Cownpry, Asa Noyes. 


The civic procession, consisting of invited guests, reverend clergy, 
committee of arrangements, orator and poet, and town authorities, rode 
in open barouches; and among the former we recognized among 
others, His Excellency Gov. Boutwell ; Hon. Amasa Walker, Secretary 
of State; Hon. C. W. Upham, Mayor of Salem; Judge White, of Sa- 
lem; George G. Smith and Joseph B. Felt, Esqs., of Boston; Rev. J. 
W. Hanson and Daniel Nutting, Esqs., of Gardiner, Maine ; Hon. John 
W. Palfrey, of Cambridge; Hon. Robert Rantoul and Rev. C. T. 
Thayer, of Beverly ; Hon. A. G. Browne, Rev. Drs. Flint and Emerson, 
Charles M. Endicott and A. Huntington, Esqs., of Salem; Hon... A. W. 
Dodge, of Hamilton; Allen Putnam, Esq., of Roxbury ; Rev. Israel W. 
Putnam, of Middleborough; Rev. C.C. Sewall of Medfield, Hon. Lilley 
Eaton, of South Reading, and many others. 

Among the invited guests also rode several persons in antique 
costumes, who represented notable characters of Danvers long since 
deceased. One of these was old Master Eppes, who, after a Rip Van 
Winkle sleep of many years, awoke in perfect astonishment at the 


100 


a 
progress of things since his day. He held in his hand one of the 
ancient school books, and in the peculiar twang of his time deprecated 
the absurd radicalism in the modern system of education. 

Next came the antique section of the procession, which was a most 
extensive and unique exhibition of the kind. First came a representa- 
tion of an old bachelor of ancient time, in the person of a sturdy 
individual on foot, in cocked hat, flowing wig, knee breeches, &c., 
who walked alone in his, glory. He was followed by the “ Putnam 
family,” in a carriage filled with the farming and household utensils of 
that notable lineage, of which “ old Put.,”’ of wolf memory, is but one 
of the many illustrious citizens of that name who were born in Dan- 
vers. The carriage was attended with a large delegation of the mod- 
ern race, dressed in the antique costumes of their ancestors, and hard 
at work in their various avocations. As the carriage passed along, one 
was grinding corn after the primitive fashion; others were spinning, 
weaving, &c. We were informed that the various implements and 
dresses exhibited on this occasion were the genuine relics of their an- 
cestors, that, have been preserved as heir-looms in the family. Then 
came several of those curious Old chaises, such as we see in prints of 
one hundred years ago, with harnesses and horses that must certainly 
have been in their prime as early as ‘the revolutionary war. These 
chaises generally contained a lady and gentleman, the perfect counter- 
parts of the establishment, in which they appeared greatly to enjoy the 
morning air. Then followed a carriage with four seats, and drawn by 
two horses, which, with its occupants, was a very curious specimen of 
the antique. An Indian, mounted, with full trappings, came next, and 
was followed by a “ Blind Hole Shoe Shop, of 1789,” with the work- 
men busily employed after the rude fashion of that time. ‘Then came 
a huge block of granite on a platform, from which workmen were 
hammering out a mill stone, for which purpose Danvers granite has 
been for many years celebrated. A pottery shop, with the apparatus 
of a hundred years ago, in full operation, came next, ana was followed 
by a band of music. 

THE SCHOOLS. 

The pupils of the several Public Schools, numbering in the whole 
1500, came out in full strength, led off by the Georgetown Brass Band, 
and presented a most beautiful feature of the procession. We cannot 
expect to give, by description, any adequate idea of the ingenious and 
admirable designs they displayed. This large body of children, in 
holiday array, could not fail to call out exclamations of delight from 
every spectator. ‘The committee of publication are enabled to give 
the following particulars, which have been mainly furnished by the 
teachers of the several schools. ‘There are fourteen school districts in 
the town, with from’ one to three schools in each. There are also two 
High Schools, one in the north and the other in the south part of the 
town, which have, since the celebration, received from the school 
committee the names severally of HotteN and Peazopy, in honor of 
the late Judge Samuel Holten and our fellow-citizen George Peabody, 
Esq., now living in London. They are therefore described under those 
names in the following account. 

This interesting part of the pageant was marshalled under the direc- 
tion of the following gentlemen :— 


101 


Sytvanus Dopce, Chief Marshal. 


JEREMIAH CHAPMAN, J. W. Snow, 
Epwarp W. Jacoss, i GEO. TApLey, 
Aveustus VaRNEy, : ALBERT J. SILVESTER, 
Autpen Dempsey, 3 Lorine Dempsey, 
Jas. P. Hutcuinson, ABNER MeEap. 


GiLtBert A. Taptey. 


Peasopy Hicu Scuoot. 

The High School of the South Parish, numbering forty pupils, under 
the charge of Mr. Eugene B.,Hinckley, next followed, and elicited the 
highest encomiums for the admirable skill and taste manifested in all 
its representations. 

With the exception of the first and last carriages, this part of the 
procession was intended to illustrate ancient times, and to contrast them 
with the present. It was headed by a young man on horseback, bear- 
ing the banner of the school. He was followed by two young ladies 
-and one gentleman, besides the teacher, all on horseback, and dressed 
in the full costume of the eighteenth century. 

Then came the first carriage, containing the Queen of the Season, 
with six attendants, appropriately dressed in white, and wearing ever- 
green wreaths, with spring flowers interwoven. The queen wore a 
floral crown, and a light wreath hanging from the right shoulder, and 
falling carelessly upon the left side, and bearing in her right hand a 
wand or sceptre. ‘The carriage consisted of an oval platform, from 
which rose six pillars, supporting a canopy of like form. The plat- 
form, pillars, and arched roof were entirely covered with evergreen, 
making a perfect ‘¢ greenwood bower.” 

The next carriage represented Marketing in the olden time, and was 
occupied by a venerable couple, whose looks and actions plainly indi- 
cated that they were of the few ‘‘ who have come down to us from a 
former generation, whose lives Heaven had bounteously lengthened 
out that they might behold the joyous day.” The carriage,—to say 
nothing of the horse, for we always feel a degree of delicacy in speak- 
ing of contemporaries ; besides, he was so far removed from the car- 
riage as to have little claim to description on the same page,—the 
carriage was an object of interest to antiquarians, and led us all to doubt 
one of the axioms of the philosophers; for while the memory of man 
and even tradition itself runneth not back to the time when it had a 
beginning, it gives unmistakable evidence that it will speedily have an 
end. ‘There was a goodly display of onions, potatoes, apples, &c., in- 
dicating the treasures within; while, from the little box in front, ap- 
peared the pail of eggs, and at its side the jugs, designed to receive in 
exchange the sweetening for coffee and the sweetener of life. In con- 
spicuous places, also, the riches of its freight were emblazoned with 
chalk, in orthography which showed (to the regret,.no doubt, of Dr. 
Stone and others) that the phonetic system was known to the “ fathers,” 
another proof of the wise man’s sad proverb, ‘‘ there is nothing new 
under the sun.” | 

Next came an ancient Quilting Party. Eight ladies, dressed in the 
prim and proper style of the eighteenth century, cap-a-pie, not omitting 
the pin-ball and scissors hanging from the apron belt, were busily en- 

\ 


102 

gaged in completing the quilt; while, in one corner, sat the old lady, 
whose time seemed about equally divided between her knitting work « 
and snuff box. The ladies were not all old, and the love of display, 
which we are sometimes inclined to look upon as characteristic of our 
times only, finding little room for manifesting itself in the puritan cut 
of the sleeve, the white kerchief, and the scanty skirt, was forced to 
take a higher place, and looked forth in no equivocal manner from the 
massive puffs of hair which surmounted their demure faces. It was 
rather invidiously remarked, too, that it could hardly have been acci- 
dental, that eight pairs of high-heeled satin shoes should have been so 
conspicuous, although the ladies were all seated. Most of the dresses 
were not only representative of a former age, but were true relics of 
the olden time, which have fortunately outlived their first possessors, 
and serve to connect the present with the past. 

Then followed the Beaux and Belles of the eighteenth and nine- 
teenth centuries, a group consisting of two couples, one in the fashion- 
able dress of 1752, and the other in that of 1852. The cushioned 
hair, the rich flowing brocade dress, the wrought high-heeled shoes, 
the monstrous fan, the strait-backed but richly-carved chair; the knee 
and shoe buckles, the short breeches, the ample coat, the powdered 
wig and cocked hat, reminded one strongly of the portraits of ‘ lang 
syne’s sons’”’ and daughters, and formed a striking contrast to the more 
showy but less expensive dress of the opposite couple. 

After these, came a busy company engaged in the various domestic 
employments which were the peculiar occupations of the ancient house- 
hold. Carding, Spinning, Reeling, and Lace-netting were all in lively 
and successful operation. ‘The linen wheel also stood in its own cor- 
ner. Nor must the old cradle be forgotten, in which, no doubt, has 
slumbered the embryo genius of many a beloved and distinguished son 
of New England. Within its oaken sides, too, have been seen the 
early manifestations of that restless energy, which, though troublesome 
in childhood, is admired in the man, and which has given brilliancy 
and success to the Yankee career. From out its gloomy depths, far 
back in the shadowy past, have proceeded, in discordant tones, those 
voices that, in later days, proved mighty in council and debate, and 
whose thunders shook the king upon his throne. You would know 
that none but a Puritan had made it,—so square and heavy its panelled 
sides, so strait and unbending its posts; and one could not help feeling 
that, in its turn, it must have helped in giving form and character to 
the minds that had been pillowed in it,—at once the emblem and the 
nurturer of an unbending race of men. 

A large carriage followed, in which it was the design to show, in. 
contrast, the Past and Present, as exhibited in the schoolroom, and all 
the appurtenances. A large map was suspended in the middle, entirely 
separating it into two rooms. ‘The front room presented a rough and 
altogether comfortless appearance. On the backless bench were seated 
the luckless wights who were being “educated” and “ instructed,” 
with the ‘Slate and Rethmetic” before them. On the other side of 
the room, sat the “ Master,” in all the restrained severity of a Crom- 
well Roundhead. On the table at his side lay the indispensable and 
only school apparatus, the clencher of every argument, the unraveller 


“103 


of every scientific knot, the elucidator of every principle, the enforcer 
of every precept,—the rod,—good for doctrine, reproof, instruction, 
and correction. As it lay there in repose, a man of the present age 
would see in it only an emblem of the pliancy of the youthful mind, 
and the sprightly buoyancy of youthful spirits. But the youthful spirits 
opposite evidently put a different construction upon the matter, as the 
stereotyped tenor of countenance and the chronic shrug of the shoulders 
stoutly witnessed. They knew, as well they might, that its lessons 
were not merely emblematic, but eminently practical; that its influ- 
ences were never silent, though always touching. They knew, too, by 
experience and “ bobservatian,’”’ as the sprightly nigger Sam would 
say, that the present quiet was only the repose-of conscious power, the 
fearful eddy of the air that forebodes the awful tempest. 

The blank side of: the map, forming one wall of the room, was a 
fitting type of the child’s mind when first committed to the master’s 
forming hand. A more appropriate representative of that mind and 
-character at graduation, might be found in the marred and mutilated 
desk cover, whereon successive generations had carved, in the impress- 
ible pine, the creations of their untutored imaginations. 

The other room was fitted up with handsome modern desks. The 
well defined map formed the wall at the head of the room, and in 
front, at his table, sat the teacher, with globes and a telescope at his 
side, representative of the expanding range of study in our schools of 
the present age, and the vastly multiplied and improved facilities for 
communicating knowledge. ‘The whole room was made to have a 
cheerful and inviting air about it, in striking contrast to the headachy 
look of the first room. We saw no implements of school warfare here, 
and were reminded of Sprague’s prophetic line : 


“To martial arts shall milder arts succeed.” 


The carriage bore the motto which was quite naturally suggested : 
« Let there be light; and there was light.” 

This carriage gave rise to many philosophic reflections, but we for- 
bear to record them here, since history is only the philosopher’s text- 
book, and not the commentary. 

Lastly, came the Gleaners, a little company of misses neatly and 
properly dressed, each wearing a broad white hat, and bearing on one 
arm the fruit of her labor. 


Houten Hicu ScHoo.. 

The High School in the North Parish appeared in two carriages, 
each:of which was trimmed for the occasion with evergreens. ‘The 
advance carriage was the ‘* Hector,”’ bearing most of the ladies dressed 
in white, and wearing on their heads turbans of pink tarlatane, with 
long veils. In this carriage were two banners, one having the arms of 
the D’Anyers Family, and the motto, ‘* History is our lesson to-day ;” 
on the reverse, 

‘¢ Wr ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE PAST, AND WE WILL LABOR 
FoR THE FUTURE.” 
The other, bearing the name of the school, and the motto, 
%¢ Dihotogla Biov Higeousene 3 
on the reverse, **ScrENTIA LUX MENTIs.” 


104 


‘ \ 

In the next carriage was most admirably represented a Trial for 
Witcbheraft—the court and its officers in full costume. The Chief 
Justice, Cotton Mather, Rev. Mr. Burroughs, and other historical char- 
acters, the witnesses, &c., were enacted to the life. Dr. Mather was 


rather surprised on finding himself introduced to the Rev. Mr. Braman, _ 


the present pastor of the church at ‘Salem Village,” but with dignity 
and courtesy he greeted the reverend gentleman, who, on his part, 
extended a most hearty and cordial salutation, with his wonted humor, 
The Judge and Mr. Burroughs went through the same ceremony with 
characteristic gravity. 

After this interruption the trial proceeded, the several witnesses, 
Eleazer Keyson, Samucl Webber, Ann Putnam, and Goodwife Sarah 
Viber testifying, in the strongest manner, to the guilt of the accused, 
who was of course convicted, and put under the custody of the Royal 
Sheriff, whose scarlet coat and official staff rendered him a prominent 
figure at the trial. 

This school is under the care of Mr. A. P. S. Stuart, and forty-two 
pupils took part in the representations. 


School District No. 1 is situated in the south part of the town, join- 
ing Salem, with which it is connected by Main Street. In this district 
is located the Lexington Battle Monument, the Danvers Bank, Meth- 
odist Meeting-house, Southwick’s large Tannery, and the principal 
burying-ground, where now rest many of the earliest and most valued 
citizens of the town. ‘This district was the home of Gen. Foster, the 
greater part of his life; of Dennison Wallis, Edward Southwick, 
Squires Shove, William Sutton, Major Sylvester Osborn, Mr. Ward, and 


Dea. Fitch Poole, Ebenezer Shillaber, and Oliver Saunders, as well as . 


others whose lives of usefulness have done much to give a character of 
enterprise and worth to Danvers. Some notoriety has been acquired 
abroad on account of this being the place where Elizabeth Whitman 
sojourned and died, (better known to romance readers as Eliza Whar- 
ton,) and pilgrimages are still made to her grave, the mutilated head- 
stone bearing ample evidence of the ravages of these relic-seeking and 
lovesick votaries. 

The schools in this district were under ‘the care of Mr. Thomas B. 


Hinckley, Miss Sarah H. Burt, and Miss Elizabeth E.Winchester, The 


number of scholars furnished to the procession was two hundred and 
ten, one hundred and sixty of whom were dressed in Turkish costume. 
The boys were attired in blue tunics and white trowsers, with scarfs 
and turbans, each carrying a glittering scimitar; the girls, in blue 
waists and white skirts, with Turkish head-dress. 

The schools represented in this part of the procession were the 
Grammar, Wallis, and Primary, each accompanied by its teacher. 
The order of arrangement was as follows, First came the Grammar 
school, at the head of which was borne a banner inscribed with the 
No. of the district to which it belonged, followed at a short distance 
by another, bearing the Wallis school motto, ‘‘ Dennison WALLIs, 
our Beneracror.” Then came another, with the inscription, “* TRUE 
MERIT OUR ONLY CLAIM TO DISTINCTION.” Next came a carriage, 
thatched with evergreen and decorated with wreaths and flowers, con- 


105 


taining “‘ buds of promise” in their holiday dresses, accompanied by 
their teacher. From the back of this carriage was seen a gentleman 
of the olden time, who, judging from the expression of his countenance, 
was evidently regarding, with a troubled mind, the changes wrought in 
dress and habits of life by the lapse of years. There was also among 
the pedestrians one old gentleman, who evidently belonged to a former 
age, and who, though “ in the world, was not of the world.” 

There are three schools in District No. 2, under the care of Mr. 
E. B. Lear, Miss Sarah A. Osgood, and Miss Lydia A. Tilton. This 
district comprises what was formerly called Skelton’s Neck, afterwards 
New Mills, and now Danvers Port. It was formerly the residence of 
Goy. Endicott, and within its bounds the famous old Pear Trex, which 
tradition informs us was planted by the Governor, still flourishes, and 
the fruit of its third century is annually plucked by his descendants. 
Col. Hutchinson, of revolutionary memory, was born in this district. 
Here is a Post Office and Railroad Station, and two Churches, Baptist 
and Universalist. 

There were one hundred and fifteen pupils from this district, who 
came in a building which was intended to represent a schoolhouse, and 
was appropriately trimmed with green branches and various kinds of 
flowers. It was drawn with its immense load by a noble team of eight 
gray horses, each bearing on his headstall a miniature American flag. 
This beautiful team was gratuitously furnished by Mathew Hooper, 
Esq., an enterprising and public spirited inhabitant of the district. 

The girls wore white dresses and millinett hats trimmed with ever- 
green. ‘The boys had dark jackets, white pants, and palm-leaf hats 
trimmed with evergreen and flowers. On a banner was inscribed, 
** SUBSTANCE NOT SHow.”’ i 

The school taught by Miss Sophia C. Appleton, in District No. 3, 
(Putnamville) followed in a carriage drawn by two horses, which were 
decorated with evergreen and flowers. ‘The carriage was also arched 
with birch boughs, and bore a banner inscribed, ‘* PurNamvILLE, Dts- 
taictT No. 3.” 

The boys were dressed in blue sacks, white pantaloons, and palm- 
leaf hats trimmed with evergreen. The girls wore white dresses, with 
millinett hats, with wreaths of flowers. ‘The whole number of scholars 
in attendance was thirty-seven. ‘This district is the birthplace of Gen. 
Moses Porter and Hon. Elias Putnam. 

The school in District No. 4, the birthplace of Gen. Israel Putnam, 
also came in a carriage trimmed with evergreen, and drawn by two 
horses tastefully decorated. Banners were borne with the following 
inscriptions : 

“Our Kou- -I-NOOR,” 
‘From THE Busu.” 

The boys of this school were uniformly dressed in green jackets 
and palm-leaf hats. The girls also wore palm-leaf hats with wreaths. 
This school was under the care of Miss Mary A. Wilkins, and a 
scholars attended. 

The schools in District No. 5,:the home of Judge Holten and Rev, 
Dr. Wadsworth, where is located the Village Meeting-house, and where 
Rey. Mr. Parris formerly lived, and the Witchcraft delusion originated, 

14 


106 


came next in three carriages, which were trimmed with evergreen and 
arched over with foliage. ‘They were well filled with happy-looking 
masters and misses, the whole number being eighty-four. ‘The first 
carriage bore this inscription, ‘*We come from Salem Village ;” 
the second—* Descendants of the Witches,” and the third—* The child 
is father to the man.” ‘These schools were attended by their teach- 
ers, Miss Sarah F. and Miss Ann Jeanette Emery. 

School District No. 6 is in the central part of the town, the former 
residence of Master Daniel E;ppes, and is known as the place where the 
Royal Governor, Gen. Gage, was encamped with his troops, previous 
to the Revolutionary war, to overawe the colonists. His head quarters 
were at the old mansion now standing, called the Collins house. 

The school in this district, under the care of Miss Harriet Felton, 
made a fine appearance. The children connected with it numbered 
about fifty. First in order came a vehicle containing the boys, who 
were intended to represent Robin Hood’s archers, each boy having in 
his hand a bow and arrow. Their dress was white pants, green tunics, 
and straw hats, with a wreath of evergreen. On their banners were 
the following: In front— 


“ No. 6. Incorporatep Nov. 17, 1800.” 
In the rear— 
‘** Bend the bow and wing the dart, 
Let it reach each foeman’s heart ; 
But the enemy must be 
All that’s bad in you or me.” 


Next came the girls belonging to the school. They were intended 
to represent Flower Girls. They were dressed in white, with a wreath 
of flowers around their hats, and each one having a bouquet in her 
hand. Their carriage was roofed over and densely covered with hem- 
lock boughs and evergreen, interspersed with flowers of every variety 
and hue.. For their motto they had the following: ‘ Flowers are types 
of innocent childhood.” 


“ Flowers that bloom for a season. 
Flowers that bloom forever.” 


There were also two other vehicles connected.with the district,—one 
contained some of the older girls dressed partly in antique style ; the 
other was a very ancient sleigh, owned by one of the inhabitants of the 
district, in which were four girls dressed in ancient costume. Dresses 
of brocade silk and damask, high-heeled shoes, bonnets of ancient 
style, and a beaver hat ornamented with plumes, comprised a part of 
their attire. As it was the custom of the original owner of the sleigh 
to have a black servant for a driver, they procured one of the same 
race for THEIR driver, an old horse, an ancient string of bells, &c., 
were all intended to represent a sletgh-ride in 1752. 

The school in District No. 8, the place where Gen. Foster spent the 
last part of his life and where he died, was represented by sixty 
scholars, who attracted much attention from their lively and animated 
appearance, the magnitude of their earriage, and the novelty of its 
team. The carriage was of great size, arched with birch trees, and 
trimmed with evergreens and flowers, the sides being festooned with 
oak leaves. A banner, trimmed with evergreen and roses, with the 


107 


name of the district, was borne at each end of the carriage, one of 
which had the following inscriptions :— 
‘* T can’t”’—never accomplished anything. 
“PLL TRY ”—has done wonders. 
INDUSTRY. 
On the other banner were the following :— 
KNOWLEDGE IS Power. 
STRIVE TO IMPROVE. 
PATIENCE. PERSEVERANCE. 

The carriage was drawn by a team of six pair of fine looking oxen, 
which were well managed by their young drivers. ‘The cattle were 
gaily decorated with miniature flags, evergreens and flowers. 

The scholars were uniformly dressed ; the boys in brown linen sacks 
and blue sashes, straw hats saci irnavects with blue ribbon, and white 
pantaloons. The girls wore blue waists, white skirts, and white paste- 
board hats, trimmed with wreaths of flowers. The merry voices of 
these young people were often heard from their leafy bower, in lively 
cheers and jocund school songs, as they were drawn through the streets. 

This school is under the charge of Mr. W. F. Gile. 

From District No. 10, in West Danvers, under the care of Miss 
Harriette Proctor, the number of scholars that joined the procession 
was fifty-seven, riding in three carriages, trimmed with evergreen, and 
drawn by two horses each. They were escorted to South Danvers by 
a cavalcade, consisting of about twenty young men, uniformly dressed 
in Kossuth hats and white pants, former members of the school. ‘The 
‘first carriage contained the boys composing the school, wearing hats 
and epaulettes made of evergreen and roses, with scarlet sashes, 
accompanied by two of the descendants of the Salem Witches, attired 
in a costume of by-gone days. On the banner borne by these lads 
was the following inscription :—‘* Common SCHOOLS. THE TREE OUR 
FATHERS PLANTED WE WILL NOURISH AND PROTECT.’ 

In the next carriage were twelve little boys and girls, dressed in 
white, accompanied by their teacher, wearing wreaths of roses, with 
bouquets in their hands. The carriage bore the motto— FLowErs 
ARE THE ALPHABET OF ANGELS.’ 

In the last, came the girls of the school, with dresses of white, pink 
hats and jackets, each carrying a fancy flower basket, and singing on 
the route a variety of school songs. Their banner was a representation 
of a rainbow. Underneath was the following :— 


\ 


“The rainbow promise gives 
That future years shall brighter be.” 


The whole number of scholars in the procession from District No. 
11, was one hundred and seventy. There are in this district three 
schools, Primary, Intermediate and Grammar.* The boys of these 
schools, numbering about ninety, were dressed in the Grecian costume, 
consisting of a white frock with a black belt, a toga or cape, fastened 
at both shoulders, and extending to, and fastened around, the wrist of 
the right arm; long white hose ; low shoes ; and a blue cap, of conical 
form, the upper part hanging upon the right side of the head. The 
girls’ dress consisted of a white waist and skirt, and a white hat 


108 


adorned with wreaths. In front of the Greeks, were two scholars 
representing, in costume, ancient and modern physicians. In the 
cehtre of the Greeks of the Grammar School was a group of High- 
landers. The scholars of this school bore a banner, upon the folds of 
which was inscribed, ‘‘ Knowledge is power”; the Highlanders one, 
with the motto, ‘‘Scotland! there is music in the sound’’; and the 
Intermediate had for their motto, written partially in hieroglyphics, 
“Tall oaks from little acorns grow.” 

Between the boys and girls was a carriage with a platform, upon 
which Hydropathy was represented. This carriage was tastefully 
ornamented with wreaths and flowers, and bore on each side the words, 
‘Give me Niagara and | will cure the world.” The care and adroit- 
ness which the Doctor manifested in wrapping up his patient, convinced | 
the multitude that he was skilled in the science which he represented. 

A second carriage contained a representation of the Spiritual Rap- 
pings. Upon the platform was a stand, from which an iron rod passed 
to a boy underneath, who worked the stand agreeably to signals given: 
by the operator on the top. Upon each side of this carriage was 
inscribed, ‘‘ Modern Witcheraft; call and investigate.” 

In the rear of the Grammar and Intermediate, was the Primary 
School, drawn in a truly spléndid carriage, having seats arranged in 
the form of a pyramid. From the centre of the upper seat arose a 
tree, which was rendered truly beautiful by being adorned with roses, 
The motto, ‘* We are a happy band,” appeared among its branches. 

There are four teachers employed in these schools. Charles E. 
Bradford, teacher of the Grammar School; Miss Sarah Safford, assist: 
ant teacher of the Grammar School; Miss Julia A. Page, teacher of 
the Intermediate School; Miss Catherine L. Wiswell, teacher of the 
Primary School. 

This school district is situated in the south part of the town, whiell 
was formerly called Brooksby, and afterwards the Middle Precinct. 
Here is the principal Post Office, Hotel, Warren Bank, the large 
Bleachery, and extensive Glue Works of Walker & Upton, the Peabody 
High School, and four of the five churches of South Danvers. Here 
also is the junction of the South Reading, the Essex, and the Lowell 
Railroads, and their several Stations. 

This district was the residence and birth place of Zachary King, 
and his numerous descendants, among whom was Hon. Daniel P. King. 
It was also the birth place of Gen. Gideon Foster, and George Peabody, 
now of London. It was the residence of Rev. Mr. Holt; and the 
school was formerly taught by Master Benjamin Gile, the teacher so 
much celebrated for his eccentricities, as well as his excellencies, and 
who caused to be inscribed the following words on his grave stone, as 
his most honorable epitaph :— 


¢¢] TAUGHT LITTLE CHILDREN TO READ.”’ 


District No. 12 came next, and presented more variety, and evi- 
dences of at least as great taste and ingenuity, as any which preceded 
it. Great credit is due to the principal teacher, Miss A. J. DeMerritt, 
and to those spirited inhabitants of the district who assisted in the 
preparations, for the beauty and variety of their part of the show. It 


109 


was in this district that some of the youthful days of the Philosopher 
Dr. Bowditch were passed, and the house where he lived is still stand- 
ing. Rev. Daniel Poor, D. D., Missionary to Ceylon, was also born 
here. Here -is the Monumental Cemetery, and the spot long known 
as the ‘* Pine Tree,”’ a famous landmark in ancient times. 

There were one hundred and twenty in the procession, who were 
led off by a gentleman, in full attire of a Hussar, with two military 
attendants. ‘Then came a Potter, manufacturing the Danvers China- 
Ware as he passed along. After him came the brave Minutemen of 
1775, Capt. Foster as their leader, all being dressed in the costume of 
75. The minutemen were«followed by a Quaker and Quakeress of 
one hundred and twenty years ago; also five young ladies and a young 
. gentleman, in costume from one hundred to four hundred years 
standing. 

“Next came a representation of Dr. Bowditch, in a vessel, with his 
globes, quadrant, sextant and compass, with four naval officers,—a 
banner, on one side of which was painted the cottage of Dr. Bowditch, 
with these words, ‘‘Tue Home or Bowpircu.” On the opposite side, 
‘*TIl— WHO HAS ADDED LAURELS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH TO HIS TOWN 
OR COUNTRY, DESERVES TO BE GRATEFULLY REMEMBERED.” 

Old Dr. Parr and his Lady, in an ancient chaise, were represented, 
and both bore marks of extreme old age. Next came a banner, borne 
by three lads in Italian costume, with this inscription :-— 


“From the clime’ of song and sun, 
From the banks of Arno’s river, 
Italia’s fair daughters we come, 
With Floral offerings hither.” 


Following the banner were fourteen young misses, as Italian Flower 
Girls, dressed in white muslin, with baskets of flowers on their heads, 
singing as they passed along. A pony and chaise, with a miniature 
man, in costume of olden time, with two young misses. 

Then followed a Turkish tent or harem, with the grand Sultan and 
his family, which consisted of four wives and eight children, in the 
full dress of the in-door costume ; the Sultan quietly enjoving a smoke 
from his chibouk as he passed along, while his wives were as happily 

.engaged with the smaller ‘Turkish pipes. 

Three carriages were decorated with evergreens, flowers and ban- 
ners, in which were placed the floral procession. 

There was also a large carriage, in which were represented the 
mothers and daughters of a century ago. One was spinning—another 
combing flax—another carding—one at the foot-wheel—another mend- 
ing—one reeling yarn—another knitting—all in ancient costume, with 
furniture of ancient date. This was the fourth scene in the proces- 
sion. d 

It was a source of much regret that the services of the junior 
teacher, Miss Lucy A. Colby, could not be commanded, on account of 
ill health. Her heart was, however, so much in the undertaking, that 
her fine poetical talent was put in requisition, and in her sickness she 
dictated to an amanuensis an original hymn, which was sung by her 
pupils in the procession. 


110 


The principal school in District No. 13 is under the management of 
Mr. A. G. Webster. The whole number of scholars connected with 
the school under his charge was fifty-six, only forty-six of whom 
appeared in the procession. The costume worn by the young ladies 
consisted of a white dress, green sash, and foundation muslin hats, 
broad rims, trimmed with a wreath of evergreen, resting on the rim 
and nearly concealing the crown. ‘That of the young gentlemen was 
white pantaloons, dark cloth spencers, and cloth caps, surrounded with 
a wreath of oak leaves. The carriage was drawn by a pair of gray 
horses, and was very neatly trimmed with small trees and branches, 
slightly arched at the top; they were placed about fifteen inches apart 
on the sides, and the branches were woven together near the top in 
the form of an arch, between each upright, all of which were very 
neatly interwoven with evergreen and studded with roses. In front of 
the carriage, and elevated above it, a banner was suspended, bearing 
the inscription, “No. 18 Grammar Scuoot.” In the rear of it, a 
small national flag was suspended from a staff. 

The Intermediate School, Miss Martha C. Putnam, teacher, appeared 
with forty scholars. The carriage was trimmed with evergreen, and 
drawn by two horses. - The girls were dressed in white, with white 
muslin hats. 

The Primary School, Miss Harriet M. Putnam, teacher, with twenty-, 
nine scholars. ‘The carriage was similar to that of the Intermediate 
School. Pike 

Both schools carried banners, designating the number of the district 
and name of the school. 

This district is in North Danvers, and in the centre of the principal 
village called the “Plains.” Here is a Post Office, Hotel, the Third 
Congregational Church, the Village Bank, and the Holten High School. 
The Walnut Grove Cemetery, a beautiful and romantic spot, is on its 
borders. ‘This district is the present residence of Hon. Judge Samuel 
Putnam, and was the former residence of the late Hon. Elias Putnam, 
to whose sagacity, public spirit and energy, this village owes much of 
its prosperity. It was also the residence of Col. Jeremiah Page, and 
others who have done much for the credit and honor of their town and 
village. 

Last in this division of the procession appeared the children of No. 
14. This district is in the flourishing village of Tapleyville, the seat 
of Mr. Gilbert Tapley’s extensive Carpet Factory, and a Post Office. 
-The girls were tastefully arrayed in blue tunics, Gypsey hats, and 
white dresses, and the boys in straw hats and white pants, numbering 
about one hundred and twenty. They were seated upon a showy and 
somewhat unique carriage, built in the form of a cone, of which the 
base, or lower tier of seats, was about 16 feet across. Above this, 
arose four other tiers, surmounted by a circular platform, upon which 
two of the larger boys were stationed, at an elevation of about sixteen 
feet from the ground, supporting a splendid banner, on one side of 
which was the inscription, ‘¢ Tapleyville, No. 14” and on the other, 
the device of a budding rose tree, with the motto, ‘‘ First THE BUD, 
AND THEN THE BLOSSOM.” | 

The carriage was carpeted throughout, by the generosity of the 


at 


+4 


gentlemanly proprietor of the carpet establishment in this vicinity, 
which added much to its comfort and adornings ; ; while the miniature 
banners, that floated in the breeze, the music, that lent its cheering 
inspiration, and the myriad of happy faces, that adorned the car, 
seemed strikingly illustrative of one of the mottoes with which it was 
inscribed, ‘‘ THE GOOD TIME HAS CoME, Boys”; and the appropriateness 
of another, ‘“* ALL’s WELL THAT ENDS WELL,” was readily appreciated 
by all who “ were there to see.’ 

The two rural districts, No. 7 and No. 9, were not represented in 
the procession. They are situated in the west part of the town, the 
former having been the residénce of the late Hon. Daniel P. King, and 
Giles Corey, of Witchcraft memory. Ina remote corner of this terri- 
tory and partly in No. 9, is that romantic region known as the “ Devil’s 
Dishfvl,”’ and on a’stream flowing through it from Humphrey’s Pond, 
is a large manufactory of hosiery and woolen goods. No. 9 is the 
least populous district in town, and joins Lynnfield. Its territory is 
level and the scenery pleasant. It borders on that beautiful sheet 
of water formerly called Humphrey’s Pond, but more recently ‘ Sun- 
taug Lake,” about half of which belongs to Lynnfield. 


After the Public Schools, came a gay-looking chariot, called ‘ Lady 
Essex,” containing. about fifty young misses, the pupils of the Private 
Schools of Miss Sarah B. Peirce and Miss Mary Ann Chase, both of 
which are located in District No. 1. 

The young ladies of the former school wore green hats with wreaths, 
white dresses and green sashes. ‘Those of the latter, wore white hats 
with wreaths, lite dresses and pink sacks. 

Their vehicle, which was built for the accommodation of large 
sleighing parties, made an elegant and imposing appearance, mounted 
on wheels, and drawn by a fine team of six black horses. 


Next after the schools, came a Cavalcade of Young Men, well 
mounted, under the direction of the following Marshals : 
Water S. Farrrietp, Chief Marshal. 
Francis A. Osporn and Josepn Jacoss, Jr., Aids. 
Assistant Marshals. 
Tuomas E. Proctor, Oscar PHILLIPS, 
EBEN. Sutton, Jr., CuHar_Les C. Poor, 
Natu’, P. Symonps, Jr. 

A second Cavalcade of nearly.300 horsemen, led by the Mounted 
Band of the Boston Lancers, terminated the grand programme of the 
pageant. This Cavalcade was under the marshalship of the following 
gentlemen : 

Francis Danes, -Esq., Chief Marshal. 
Jos. S. Hopexins, and Wm. J. C. Kenney, Aids. 


Assistant Marshals, ‘ 
Jos. F. DANE, C. A. GARDINER, 
Wm. A. Dones, Henry C. Poor, 
Joun A. Lorp, H. O. Witey, 
CHARLES PaGE, . D. C. Tissetts, 


GEORGE PRESCOTT. 


112 


After great exertions on the part of the Chief Marshal and his as- 
sistants, the streets were so far cleared of the multitude of people and 
vehicles, that the procession was put in motion. Moving down Main 
street, it countermarched at the Salem line, near the Great Tree, and 
on its return passed through Holten street, at the junction of which 
with Aborn street, it passed under a noble triumphal arch. Passing 
Aborn street into Washington street, it went through another beautiful 
arch, thrown over the latter street near the residence of David Elwell, 
Esq., and continued to the Monument, which was tastefully dressed 
with flags, and then passing up Main street, turned into Central street, 
marching the whole length of it, and countermarching, reached the 
Old South Church about noon. The School procession | here turned up 
Lowell street, under direction of their marshals, and proceeded to a 
large tent provided for their accommodation. ‘The remainder of the 
procession entered the Church, where the address was to be delivered. 

The Church being filled and the seem Ry quieted, the exercises 
took place in the following order, viz. 


1. Vouuntary on the Organ. 
2. Invocation, by Rev. James W. Putnam. 
3. ANTHEM. 
4, READING THE Scriptures, by Rev. James Fletcher. 
5. Prayer, by Rev. Israel P. Putnam, of Middleborough. 
6. OricginaL Hymn, by F. Poole. 


Fatuer! to Thee we raise 

Our hymn of grateful praise 
In long arrears ! 

We sing thy blessings sown, 

In all our pathway strewn, 

And ev’ry kindness shewn 


These Hundred Years. 


Where once the Indian trod, 
The House to worship God 
Its altar rears : 
We at its shrine appear, 
Whose Fathers worshipped here, 
In faith and holy fear, 
' These Hundred Years. 


Upon this native soil 
Our fathers erst did toil 
In hopes and fears : 
We love their pleasant vales, 
The hill sides and the dales, 
The legends and the tales, 
, These Hundred Years. 


We love our verdant hills, 
The gently rippling rills 
Delight our ears ; 


118 


We love the blood that runs 

{In veins of noble ones, 

The Fathers and the Sons ; 
These Hundred Years. 


How many a stricken heart 

Has felt Death’s keenest dart 
With bitter tears ! 

In his cold arms have slept 

The friends our hearts have kept, 

The loved ones fondest wept, 
These Hundred Years— 


Oh, God! we know how brief 
Our life of joy or grief 

To Thee appears. 
Compared with Thy Forever! 
How short the space we sever, 
To be recovered never! 


—A Hundred Years. 


Our Father! may thine -hand 
Still bless the beauteous land 
Our love endears— 

In falling—pray restore us, 

In blessings hover o’er us, 

Make glad our path before us, 
A Hundred Years. 


7. Avpress, by John W. Proctoz: 
8. Music, by the Band. 
9. Porm, by ‘Andrew Nichols. 


10. PSALM, selected from a collection in use 100 years ago, “ Faith- 
fully translated into English Metre; For the Use, Edification, and 
Comfort of the Saints-in Publick and Private, especially in ‘New 


England.” 


Psautm LXVIL. 


To the Musician, Neginoth. A Psalm or Song. 


15 


O D gracious be to us, and give 
His blessing us unto ; 
Let him upon us make to shine 
His countenance also. Selah. 
2 That there may be the knowledge of 
Thy way the earth upon : 
And also of thy saving health 
In every nation. 


3 O God let thee the people praise, 
Let people all praise thee ; 

4 O let the nations rejoyce,,. 
And glad O let them be. 


Lit 


For judgment thou with righteousness 
Shall give thy folk unto ; 

The nations that are on the earth, 
Thou shalt them lead also. 


5 O God, let thee the people praise, 
Let people all praise thee, 

6 Her fruit abundant by the earth 
Shall then forth yielded be. 

7 God ev’n our own God shall us bless, 
God bless us surely shall : 

And of the earth the utmost coasts 

They shall him reverence all. 


11. Prayer, by Rev. F. A. Willard. — 
12. Oxtp Hunprep—sung by the whole congregation. 
13. BENEDICTION. 


The extreme and oppressive heat of the weather and the lateness of 
the hour, (nearly 3 o’clock,) rendered it expedient, in the opinion of 
the Committee of Arrangements, to omit a part of the Address, which 
had already occupied about an hour and three quarters. 

The Poem of Dr. Nichols was also omitted: This was a subject of 
general regret, and the inhabitants.subsequently, at a full town meet- 
ing, unanimously and with much enthusiasm requested Dr. Nichols to 
read his poem publicly, at some convenient time. To this request he 
kindly acceded, and the poem was accordingly delivered by him, at 
the Universalist Church in the South Parish, to a large and highly in- 
terested audience. 

The vocal music at the Church was of a very high order, being per- 
formed by a large and efficient choir of nearly two hundred voices, 
under the direction of -Mr. Benj. Lang. | 

After the conclusion of the exercises at thé Church, the procession 
of ticket holders to the Dinner was formed, and proceeded to a large 
canvas pavilion, which was erected on the Crowninshield estate, in a 
fine airy position, near Buxton’s Hill. This spot was kindly tendered 
to the use of the Committee by Hon. F. B. Crowninshield. 


EXERCISES AT THE TABLE. 


The procession, which had entered the pavilion under escort of the 
Military and Firemen, soon occupied the tables, which had been spread 
for 1200 persons. After the guests had taken their places, the fact 
was formally announced by the Chief Marshal to the President of the 
day, Rev. MILTON P. BRAMAN. The President then called upon the 
Chaplain, Rev. Israel W. Putnam, of Middleborough, a native citizen of 
Danvers, who invoked a blessing. 

The feast of good things on the table having ended, the intellectual 
repast* was commenced by the PRESIDENT, whose introductory remarks 


* The speeches at the table are not given in the precise order in which they 
were delivered, and in some instances remarks, intended to be made, have 
been furnished at the request of the Committee, by guests, who were prevented 
from speaking by want of time. . 


115 


were exceedingly brilliant and happy, and were received with great 
enthusiasm. ‘T’o be fully appreciated they should have been heard. 


After calling the assembly to order, Mr. BRAMAN said : 


The inhabitants of Danvers have, for a considerable period, looked 
forward to this day with pleasant anticipations ; and as the time ap- 
proached and they became more engaged in preparation for the event, 
it acquired in their view a more absorbing interest. It is the first Cen- 
tennial which Danvers has witnessed ; it is the last which the present 
inhabitants will be permitted to enjoy. They have not spared pains to 
contribute to the interest of the occasion. They are anxious that it 
should gratify all whose hearts beat with emotions of regard for their 
native town, and all who have been pleased to assemble from other 
places to unite with them in the entertainments of the day. They 
hope that it will be long remembered by those in younger life with 
pleasure and benefit ; and that those who are now children and youth, 
when they shall become old, shall revert to it as one of the bright spots 
of their early years. 

Allow me to congratulate the assembly, on this beautiful and brilliant 
June day, on the interesting exhibition which has been witnessed ; on 
the instructive performance to which we have listened in the house of 
worship. Permit me to extend a cordial greeting to numerous stran- 
gers who have honored us with their presence, and to thank those dis- 
tinguished visiters who have so kindly responded to our invitations, and 
from whom we expect such rich additions to the pleasures and advan- 
tages of the celebration. When men high in office and eminent for 
talent are willing to turn aside from public and important engagements 
to afford their presence and speak words of wisdom and: sympathy on 
such occasions, they are not acting inappropriately to their distinguished 
position in the community. It is one of the ways in which they may 
very much promote the public, patriotic and useful ends for which tal- 
ent and statidn are conferred upon them. | 

The importance of such celebrations can hardly be overrated. They 
tend to supply materials for the general history of the country. The 
history of a nation is the collected result of the account of its several 
component parts; and the more minute and graphic the delineation of 
the incidents which compose them, the wider basis they afford for gen- 
eral history, and the more freshness, spirit and fidelity do they breathe 
into its pages. What is it that gives Macaulay’s history so much of its 
wonderful fascination and value? It is not merely the brilliant and 
glowing style with which he clothes his ideas, but the industry with 
which he has explored ancient and local records, and transferred their 
smallest details to his own narrative ; the manner in which he has 
caught the spirit of the times on which he writes, and reflected their 
very ‘form and pressure.” He has reproduced the past by the clear- 
est illustrations, and caused its characters and transactions to pass be- 
fore us as in dramatic representation. He is greatly indebted to such 
records as correspond with those productions which owe their origin to 
our centennial occasions. So are all good historians. Many years 
ago, the library of a celebrated German Professor was procured for 
Harvard University. He had been employed on a history of the 


116 


_ United States, which was left unfinished at his death. With German 
industry he had made a large collection of American authorities to 
assist him in his work. I have seen in that library centennial dis- 
courses of some of the most inconsiderable towns of New England ; 
discourses iif the form of old sermons, smoked and dried, as if the bet- 
ter to preserve the facts which they contained. 

It has been the fault of general histories that they have been too 
general. They have been too formal, stately, grave. They have not 
descended enough among facts of less notoriety and magnitude. They 
have not gone down into the depths of private life, and ‘* caught the 
manners living as they rise.” They have therefore been less faithful 
representations of past ages, and much less extensively read. 

We want occasions that shall give birth to such performances as 
those to which I have alluded. They turn the attention of municipali- 
ties to their own history. They seize facts that are passing into ob- 
livion. They transcribe recollections of those aged persons whose 
memories will soon cease to retain their impressions. The history of 
New England has been greatly enriched by these commemorations. 
They realize a grand idea of Political Economy—the subdivision of 
labor. ‘Towns, districts, and individuals are employed. in collecting 
materials. It requires time, industry and research to prepare historical 
notices of quite limited subjects. ‘To recover ancient dates, to obtain 
an exact statement of facts long since transpired, to gather up from 
various sources the detached and scattered items that belong to any 
one topic, is a work of plodding toil. I recently asked Mr. Savage 
whether he had completed his preparation of a new edition of Farmer’s 
Genealogy, a work of three or four hundred pages, which I knew he 
had been engaged some time in revising. ‘‘Oh no,” he replied, ‘* it 
is only seven years since I began.” 

‘‘ History,’ it has been said, ‘‘is philosophy teaching by example.” 
Our history is much more than that. It is Christianity teaching by 
example. It is the theory of the Rights of Conscience teaching by 
example. It is high-souled Patriotism teaching by example. It is the 
idea of Social Advancement teaching by example. It is the spirit of 
Republican Liberty and Equality teaching by example. It is the the- 
ory of an approaching day of Millennial Happiness and Glory for the 
race teaching by example. 

With the exception of the history of revealed religion and the intro- 
duction of Christianity, ours is the most important and encouraging 
that ever unrolled its pages to the eyes of oppressed and suffering hu- 
manity. It holds out the light-of hope to every other nation under 
heaven ; it is to the political world what a sun rising in the West would | 
be to the natural world, before which the light of the present sun 
should grow dim, and whose broad disk should fill the concave of the 
heavens. | 

The history of this town has its importance and interest as a portion 
of that of New England. It is connected with the earlier history of 
Massachusetts, and with that great struggle by which our Independence 
was achieved. We believe that the inhabitants have not lost those 
traits which distinguished their ancestry ; that some of the old Puritan 
love of religion and religious liberty lingers here ; that the same patri- 
otic blood flows in their veins which was poured out so freely in the 


117 


first and subsequent battles of the Revolution ; and, if ever they should 
be called again to vindicate their liberties, the young men would go 
forth with as much courage and alacrity, to engage in mortal strife, as 
those whose names are perpetuated by yonder monumental granite. 

We hope that as the citizens of the town turn their eyes more in- 
tently upon their history, and commune with the spirits of their re- 
ligious and heroic fathers, they will catch a new inspiration, and that 
they will attach themselves, more firmly than ever, to those institutions 
and elements of strength, which have given them their New England 
character and prosperity. 

The town has not grown so-rapidly as some others in the Common- 
wealth ; but it has gone forward with a steady, quiet, vigorous growth, . 
till it stands among the most considerable towns in the State. Our 
motto is, ‘Onward. We have an appropriate name, whose significa- 
tion is indicative of progress. 

The name Danvers is compounded of the two words ‘ De” and 
‘‘Anvers.”” We have been informed to-day of the origin of the appli- 
cation. I have had a curiosity to ascertain the meaning of the term. 
It is well known to many that Anvers is the French pronunciation of 
Antwerp, a once flourishing city of Netherlands, and still possessing 
magnitude and importance. By the kind assistance of Mr. Sibley, the 
Assistant Librarian of Harvard, I have been directed to an old geo- 
graphical folio, in which the signification of the name is discussed. 
The opinion of the most judicious antiquarians is there stated. Aen- 
werp, from which Antwerp is derived, is an old-Flemish word denoting 
addition, accession, progress. The waters of the river Scheldt, on 
whose banks it is situated, carried down a large quantity of alluvial 
material, which they deposited on the site of Antwerp, and laid. the 
foundation of the city. ‘The soil on which it stands is added to the 
natural soil—thence the name. It was applied to us with a kind of 
prophetic intimation. We accept it as our motto, and as indicative of 
our condition. Addition,—gradual, steady addition,—like the deposits 
which a river makes of the soil which is diffused through its waters,— 
a rich addition, as all alluvial soil is known to be. Addition to our 
agricultural resources,—addition to arts and trade,—progress in re- 
sources, wealth, industry, enterprise, virtue, humanity, the spirit and 
principles of religion, and every element ‘that contributes to elevate, 
adorn, and bless a Town, State, and Nation. The river of our pros- 
perity, which flows down from the past, continues to make its constant, 
silent deposit of the selectest materials, enlarging, deepening, enriching 
the foundations on which we hope to stand till the end of time. 

There is one respect in which we claim not only to have made a 
great advance, but to stand before the age. 

I refer to the great subject of Demonology and spiritual communica- 
tions. Whatever there is in spiritual manifestations, either by rapping or 
turning over tables, that is supposed to indicate progress in this world 
or the other, we can exhibit an account of phenomena which surpass 
them all. We are a hundred and sixty years in advance of all these 
manifestations, The people of ‘ Salem Village ” had communications 
with spirits in 1692, and, according to received accounts, spirits much 
more powerful than indicate their presence now. ‘They could not only 


: 118 


a 


rap floors and ceilings, but rap shoulders and knuckles, and inflict the 
most grievous wounds. They could not only turn over tables, but fly 
through the air without wings. The people of Danvers have had such 
spiritual wonders passing among them that they have little or no taste 
for these modern exhibitions. ‘They look down upon them as inferior 
imitations. Their reputation is so high in these matters, and their 
point of progress so far ahead, that they can afford to stand still and 
wait for the age to come up. But you may be assured that if ever 
they should see fit to take up this subject again, they will throw every 
thing that now appears into the shade. ‘They will exhibit spirits 
which will not only turn over tables, but will capsize the White Moun- 
tains, and rap loud enough to be heard across the Atlantic. They 
hope that they shall not be unduly pressed to make developments in 
reference to this matter; but if they are driven to extremities, and 
called upon to vindicate their equality to the progress of the age, they 
will not shrink from the effort, and will throw all the glory of the age 
into the shade, by reason.of the “ glory that excelleth.”’ 

They have the means of doing this, of which the public are not 
generally aware. On the grounds which I occupy, stood, formerly; 
the house of Rev. Mr. Parris, in which Salem Witchcraft commenced. 
There is a rose-bush which stood in the garden, or front yard connected 
with the house, and which I think grew there in 1692. And my 
reason for the belief is that it gives evidence of being possessed of 
extraordinary powers of vitality. It has been cut down by the scythe 
in all stages of the moon, and when the signs of the almanac were all 
right; it has been repeatedly ploughed up ; ‘but it will live on—it grows 
as vigorously and blooms as beautifully as ever. I have no doubt that 
it is bewitched—that is, as much bewitched as any person or thing 
ever was bewitched. I had cut off a slip which I intended to exhibit, 
but unfortunately have lost it. The audience need not have been 
afraid of it; Iam not a medium, and have no means of calling its 
latent virtue into action.. The bush I suppose to be a reservoir of witch 
fluid, which the inhabitants have only to find means to bring into 
operation, to make such awful demonstrations as would surpass all 
former fame. They have no mischievous designs at present, but will 
be ready to put down all rival pretensions when the exigency requires 
it. In the meantime, instead of making any further progress in de- 
monology, they will turn their attention to more eafthly matters. 

On this occasion, which closes the first century of our municipal 
existence, it is natural to recur to what has transpired within that 
period. It is among the most eventful centuries which have elapsed. 
When this portion of Salem was made a district, Washington was only 
twenty years of age, and has acquired all his transcendent and immor- 
tal fame since that period. ‘The man who wrote the Declaration of 
Independence was a lad still younger. Scarcely more thought was 
entertained of being severed from the mother country and living under 
this republican government, than now exists in China that that country, 
in twenty or thirty years, will adopt our political institutions. What a- 
vast change has taken place in the country and world! The century 
on which we have entered will witness still greater changes. American 
Republicanism will have diffused itself over Europe. Republics will 
line the whole coast of dark and degraded Africa. Our ideas and 


119 


institutions will have penetrated the depths of Asia. This town will 
probably be a populous city, sending up its numerous spires to the 
heavens, and having streets crowded with a busy population. 

As we take leave of this day, we look forward with hope, not un- 
mingled with solicitude, to the future. We bequeath to the generations 
following, of this century, a precious inheritance. We bequeath to 
them a soil devoted to God by prayer, and baptized into the name of 
Liberty by Revolutionary blood ; and charge them never to alienate 
from its high consecration. We bequeath to them the graves and 
memory of most worthy men, whose characters we hope they will 
ever respect, and whose virtues we trust they will copy. We bequeath 
to them a religion whose spirit we pray that they may ever cherish, 
and principles of liberty which we hope will ever burn with unquench- 
able ardor in their hearts. We bequeath to them homes, which we 
desire may continue to be adorned with domestic virtue and the richest 
sources of peace. We bequeath to them habits of industry, love of 
order, attachment to temperance, privileges and institutions which we 
implore that they may preserve and perfect with the greatest care. 
We hope, that when the morning of June 16, 1952, shall dawn upon 
this town, it shall illuminate a religious, free, intelligent, improved, 


prosperous, happy people. 
The first regular sentiment was then announced as follows :— 


His Excellency the Governor—Honorably known for the interest he has taken 
in our Revolutionary history. We hail his presence here as a testimony of his 
appreciation of the part taken by Danvers in that great struggle for Constitu- 
tional Liberty. 


Governor BOUTWELL responded substantially in the following 


terms: 


Mr. President :—It is true that I have come here to take an humble 
part in commemorating the services of your Revolutionary ancestors ; 
and the noble character they bore in the great struggle for freedom, is 
worthy of all the festivities and pageantry of this occasion. 

But it is not to those services only, and the emotions they inspire, 
that these moments are dedicated. We are carried to Colonial and 
Provincial times, and remember that a Republic was founded at noon- 
day, in the sight of the world. Uncertain history traces the Roman 
Empire to a band of robbers, while human knowledge seeks in vain 
for the origin of the institutions of Great Britian. How fortunate the 
contrast which America presents! Our humble origin, dur slow, but. 
sure progress, as well as present power, all are known. ‘There is 
neither uncertainty nor mystery in American history. 

These municipal anniversaries are important. ‘The orator and poet 
may preserve minute, though well authenticated, facts, and treasure 
traditions, which will give life and intelligence to the historian’s page. 

Each day has its history. All of us help to give character to our 
day, and are therefore responsible for that character. So of a town. 
Each of our more than three hundred towns has its history. From 
the lives and opinions of individual men comes the history of towns ; 
and from the lives and opinions of individual men, combined with our 
municipal annals, comes the history of states and the nation. 


120 


. Itis not a mistake that we judge a town by its leading or notable 
men. If a community has produced men of talents, courage, or 
learning, it is not an idle delusion in the public mind which gives 
prominence to that fact. We cannot but receive the idea of represen- 
tative men. Eminent statesmen, orators, warriors and philosophers, 
are only the leading statesmen, orators, warriors and philosophers of 
the communities in which they dwell. The native nobility of one man 
is some evidence of the general, even though’ inferior, nobility of the 
race to which he belongs. Many generations and many men contrib- 
uted to the creation of one Shakspeare ; and the fame of one Shak- 
speare immortalizes a nation. Washington represented the heart, and 
illustrated the principles, of the American people. It would not be 
too much to say that he was indebted to his country, and therefore his 
countrymen may well share the immortality of his name and character. 

It is in this view that I have listened to your story of the deeds of 
the heroic men of Danvers and of the County of Essex. First of all, 
the fame of those deeds is yours, citizens of Danvers and of Essex ; 
but beyond your claim, though not superior to it, that fame belongs to 
Massachusetts and to the country. The value of a deed of heroism 
or patriotism, or of a progressive step in learning or civilization, is 
local and peculiar at the same time that it is universal and indivisible. 
When, therefore, you unfold the character of Foster, or narrate the 
services of Putnam, you speak to us even who are citizens of other 
counties. But you are not, | take it, confined to the present limits of 
your town. As Danvers was once Salem, so Salem, for all time, must 
contribute to the just renown of Danvers. You have an equal interest 
an Endicott, whose unostentatious worth was appreciated by the whole 
colony. In the Higginsons, of three generations, whose piety, patriot- 
ism, and learning, identified their names with the history of Massachu- 
setts. In William Hathorne, who seemed fitted for every position, — 
either in the council, field, or church. In the Brownes, who were 
liberal men, and contributed to the college at Cambridge. 

But, gentlemen of Danvers, your claim to the public spirit and 
courage of the one hundred men who marched to the line of danger 
on the 19th of April, 1775, is first, but not exclusive. So the value — 
you attach to the fact that Putnam was a native of Danvers, arises 
from the consideration that a republic is jealous of any exclusive 
appropriation of his bold patriotism and generous recklessness of 
danger. 

In: modegn times, also, the County, of Essex has produced many 
distinguished men. This occasion, I think, will permit an allusion to 
two, whose acquaintance [ enjoyed. I speak of Mr. Kine, of Danvers, 
and Mr. SattonsTat1, of Salem. Mr. King was better known to you 
than to me; but J knew him enough to appreciate the integrity of his 
character, and his conscientious discharge of the duties of private and 
public life. | | 

I knew Mr. Saltonstall in the last months—I cannot say years—of 
his existence. But, sir, I knew him enough to admire and respect 
the bland simplicity and elegant purity of his life and conversation ; 
and all who knew him appreciated the kind qualities of his heart, to 
which were added a high order of talents and reputable learning. In 


121° 


the closing moments of his life, I doubt not he was sustained .and 
soothed by an unfaltering trust, and approached his grave 


“Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.” 


« Lhe men and the generations of whom we have heard to-day 
have passed away. Their deeds live and act—but they rest from their 
labors, 

For you, however, there is a future as well asa past. From 1754 
to 1850, your population has increased from less than eighteen hundred 
to more than eight thousand souls. Production and trade have in- 
creased in a greater ratio even. , 

But let us contemplate, sir, if we can, the condition of this town an 
hundred years hence, when its inhabitants shall meet to review the 
deeds of Putnam, Foster, and their associates! They will dwell ina 
city of thirty, forty, or even fifty thousand people. Salem will contain. 
at least an hundred thousand souls. Great changes will they recount. 
Great deeds will they narrate. The list of eminent men will be 
lengthened—nobly lengthened. 

And, O, our country, what shall then be thy condition and fate 2 
No harm shall come to thee. Thy flag shall then, as now, wave over 
the most distant seas, and thy power be respected by the rudest people. 
Thy territory shall not be limited, but extended; the Union, taking 
root more and more firmly in the hearts of the people, shall promise 
immortality ; while noble cities upon our oceans, lakes, and majestic 
rivers, shall rival in population, business and wealth, the most pros- 
perous of ancient or modern times. 

In faith let us believe that all then will be well; that the stars and 
stripes of our national ensign will wave over a free, happy and united 
people ; that liberty to all men will be given and enjoyed; that our 
commerce will be protected on every sea; and, finally, that one hun- 
dred years hence witnesses may be present to testify that America and 
Americans have not degenerated. 


Governor Boutwell concluded with the following sentiment : 


The Onward Prosperity of Danvers—May the next Centennial Celebration 
be enjoyed by a people as richly blessed as the present, and as justly proud 
of their ancestors. 


The second regular toast was in honor of Gov. John Endicott, and 
his descendants. It was eloquently responded to by WM. C. ENDI-. 
COTT, Esq., of Salem, as follows: 


Mr. President :—I regret that the sentiment you have proposed 
should not be answered by some one more worthy than myself. For 
he who would represent the presence of the great and influential of 
their time, should have something more than their name to entitle him 
to respond to their praises. 

Old John Endicott is not represented here by any, who have a fame 
of their own that can claim fellowship with his; and I rise merely to 
acknowledge the honor you have done his memory by the sentiment 


you have proposed. 
1 


122 


This, sir, is peculiarly a Danvers festival, All the associations of 
the past and the present, all the history and the incidents of two hun- 
dred years, are gathered here to-day; and here, too, are collected, 
from all parts of our wide-spread land, those who claim a parentage 
within your fair borders, and those who feel a deep interest in the 
place and in the people. In the latter class I must rank myself. But} 
sir, though I cannot reckon it among the accidents of my life to have 
been born upon your soil, still there is many a tie that places it next in 
my affections to the spot of my birth; it was here that much of my 
boyhood was passed. I know every farm-house upon your hill-sides, 
and every road upon your surface; and amid the sea of faces around 
me, there are many whose genial lineaments were impressed upon my 
memory by a thousand little kindnesses, when memory was most im- 
pressible. For two centuries my fathers tilled your soil, and beneath 
it their bones are buried. I claim therefore, sir, if not of you, that I 
am with you to-day in interest and feeling. 

John Endicott was the first landholder of Danvers. Under a colo- 
nial grant in 1632, he took possession of a portion of your soil. 

You stated, sir, in your opening address, that the growth of Danvers, 
during two hundred years, had not been rapid. But, sir, if that stern 
old Puritan could stand here to-day, and look back through the years 
that are past, tracing each wave of progress as it has swept over the 
land, from the time when he rocked Danvers in a cradle, to to-day the 
fulfilment of its manhood, more, vastly more than his hoping heart 
ever dared to dream of, would such a vision realize. He would recall 
it, as he knew it, waving with the original forest, with here and there 
the sparse and scattered clearing, where the sturdy settler was subdu- 
ing the wilderness, and making the earth tributary to his wants ;—and 
he would see it, to-day, the home of a numerous, prosperous, and 
happy people, pouring their active and intelligent industry through all 
the channels of the usefui arts, and celebrating here, with so much 
thankfulness and joy, the hour of their nativity. The churches that 
dot your surface would remind him that the great cause of religious 
liberty,—the great interest of a devout religion, for the better establish- 
ment and the lasting maintenance of which he crossed the sea, Is as 
dear to the hearts of the people now as then. And the schoolhouses 
at every corner, and the bright and joyous throng of public school 
children gathered here, would tell him, that the system first suggested 
' by himself in 1641, to educate the children of the state from the treas- 
ury of the state, is now the established principle of the land. It is 
hardly necessary to comment upon the results of that system; every 
one within the sound of my voice has probably been the recipient of its 
bounty, and feels to-day its influence upon himself. 

And such, Mr. President, as he would see Danvers to-day, he would 
sce all the little republics that have sprung from the Puritan stock. 
The change has been a mighty one for the work of but*two centuries, 
and the brain grows giddy as we strive to estimate the changes of the 
next. ‘That it has been so mighty, we owe it to the Puritans with all 
their faults, and to those wise principles of government, morals, re- 
ligion and law, which they brought here. The start was a good one, 
the foundation was a strong one,—and if the race be feeble, and the 


123 


superstructure weak, ours is the fault. Almost with a divine prescience, 
they laid the foundations of the state to. withstand the shock of ages, as 
if they knew what a mighty structure was to be reared upon them in 
the coming time, which would gather within its walls the fugitives from _ 
all lands. , 

« Their principles, I trust, are with us still. They recognized no am- 
bition as worthy, but that which ministered to the general welfare ; they 
aimed at the useful alone ; they discarded forms, and rites, and cere- 
monies ; they regarded religion not as mystery, but as a reality ; they 
thought all men equal, and recognized no superior but their God. 
They left no memorials of tHeir greatness carved in marble, or painted 
on canvas ; they reared no temples and no palaces, nor did they seek 
to revive here the glories of Old England. How unlike in this the 
other colonists of America ! 

The Spaniards, with their armies, pierced into the forests of the 
New World; and wherever their steps have been, they have left turret 
and battlement, column and spire,—the stern castle, and the stately 
cathedral with its swelling organ, its statues and its pictures ; and the 
splendors of old Spain were mirrored in the new. And the weak civ- 
ilization, that struggles for existence in Spanish America, tells the story 
of their folly. 

But, sir, the Puritan left his memorials graven upon a more enduring 
substance than marble or canvas ; he left them stamped upon the char- 
acter of his posterity. In the love of liberty regulated by law,—in 
the indomitable energy, thrift, and enterprise,—in the religious senti- 
ment and the moral purpose,—in the wide-spread, comprehensive sys- 
tem of education,—in everything that has contributed to the. moral 
elevation and material prosperity of the people of New England, we 
read the works of the Puritan. Whata charter, sir, is this, for the 
liberties and the true glory of a nation ! 

There was a stern utility in all the aims of the Puritan, which de- 
prives life, with us, of many of its graces and refinements; and while 
we retain their glorious characteristics, let us remember that it is our 
mission to engraft upon them and to cultivate the love of letters, of 
science, and of art, and make the land we have inherited as famous 
for its culture as it is for its progress; and while we strew our path 
with the monuments of our success in the useful and material arts,— 
while we level the mountain, and bridge the sea, and make the iron 
and the steel throb with intelligence, let us strive also to leave behind 
us monuments of intellectual triumphs, which shall outlast the struc- 
tures of human hands. 

But | am reminded, sir, by my recollection of the history of Danvers, 
that many of your citizens have labored well and faithfully in the 
vineyards of letters and science. There is a long list of divines, be- 
ginning in the early days of your history, and coming down to the 
present time, who have found leisure, amid the duties of their calling, 
to cultivate a.taste for letters, and to enrich the literature of the land. 
You, Mr. President, well represent them here. There was Eppes, 
known as “the greatest schoolmaster in New England,” famous for 
his classical learning and his genial culture. In later times there was 
Read, distinguished for the encouragement he gave to science, manu- 


124 


factures, and the arts, and to whom, perhaps, the world would have 
been indebted for the steamboat, if his means had been equal to his 
ingenuity. Bowditch, too, passed his youth among you, and the burn- 
ing genius of the boy first gazed with awe and wonder upon the moon 
rising over your own hills. ‘There is one among you now,—I see him 
here,—whose humorous and brilliant pen brings laughter and delight 
to many a fireside, and of whom I will only say that he writes too lit- 
tle. There was another, whom many of you doubtless remember,— 
he was a college companion of my own,—the young, the graceful, and 
accomplished scholar, cut off in the first bloom of his manhood ; he 
lived too short a life for the world to know him, but the memory of his 
virtues and his talents is dearly cherished by all his friends. 

Pardon me, Mr. President, for trespassing so long upon your atten- 
tion; the hour is replete with thought and feeling. In conclusion, I 
would express the hope that your future may be, like your past, hon- 
orable, prosperous, and happy. 


A sentiment alluding to the former unity and present concord be- 
tween Salem and Danvers, was responded to by Hon. CHARLES W. 
UPHAM, Mayor of Salem, who spoke as follows : 


Mr. President :—The unity of spirit and the identity of interest 
spoken of in the sentiment just announced, between Danvers and 
Salem, secure our sympathy in this occasion. But not these alone. 
There is a stronger and closer tie binding us together, as the gentlemen 
of the glee club have just told us. We hold to you a parental relation. 
You are bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. I bear testimony to, 
although I have not the power adequately to express, the feelings of 
the people of Salem in the brilliant pageant of this your Centennial 
Celebration. They are identical with the deep, the tender, the fervent 
sensibility with which a fond and proud parent rejoices in the welfare, 
honor, and happiness of a cherished and meritorious child. 

Sir, there is much, we think, in the condition and the history of 
Salem of which our people may justly be proud,—a virtuous ancestry, 
—a commercial genius, of which all seas and shores have witnessed 
the triumphs,—memorable events, and great names, shedding lustre on 
our annals,—unsurpassed intelligence and wealth,—the manly enter- 
prise of our sons, and the far-famed beauty of our daughters ;—but 
above all things else, old Salem boasts of the towns which have risen 
around her. No Roman Cornelia ever pointed to her offspring with a 
more glowing admiration than we do to the towns that call us mother. 

It is generally conceded that Massachusetts presents as high a social 
development as any part of our country. Allow me to say, from my 
own recent experience and very extended opportunities of observation, 
that no man can have an adequate conception of the culture to which 
our Commonwealth has attained, without a minute personal exploration 
of its institutions of education, and of the action of the general 
mechanism of society over its entire surface. Of this favored State, 
there is no portion more prosperous or better organized than the old 
County of Essex. And here, within the precincts of the original 
territory of Salem, there is a variety and an accumulation of the 


125 


elements of true civilization and sure progress, eminently remarkable 
and most gratifying. 

Where on the face of the earth does a purer patriotism burn,— 
where are braver hearts to encounter danger, or meet death, in the 
cause of the country,—where a benevolence more prompt to rush to 
the relief of distress, than in Marblehead ? 

In Manchester and Beverly there is an admirable union of the virtues 
and the traits peculiar to an agricultural and a sea-faring population. 
Topsfield and Wenham are among the best specimens of farming 
towns. Danvers presents a cluster of villages with cultivated and 
lovely fields spread out between them; on no spot does the soil return 
a richer reward to the labor that tills it, and in no farming district does 
the wealth of the people reach a higher average than in Danvers. 

Mr. President, there is an elevated point of view just over your 
border, in Beverly, known as Browne’s Hill. The vestiges are still to 
be traced of a lordly mansion, reared in the olden time, by a colonial 
grandee, upon its very summit. The beautiful prospect it affords, and 
the interesting reflections it suggests, have made it a favorite resort. 
On the approach of a bright summer sun-set, a scene is spread around 
it which cannot fail to fill the eye with delight, and the heart with 
patriotic gratitude. It is nearly all comprehended, as it stretches away, 
in every direction, to the horizon, in the original limits of Salem,— 
Manchester, Beverly, Salem, Marblehead, Swampscot and Lynn in 
front, with the ocean that washes their shores; Middleton, Topsfield, 
Wenham and Hamilton, with their broad fields, behind; and Danvers, 
one wide-spread garden, beneath. 

In gazing upon this glorious padorame, I always feel, ir the mest 
exquisite of poets, in his contemplation of an ancient pastoral life, 
could not repress the exclamation, Oh, most fortunate of men! how 
infinitely more are the free and happy people of this favored region 
called to give thanks to God, for the unequalled blessedness that has 
fallen to their lot ! 

Yes, sir, nowhere does the sun shine upon a happier, more cultiva- 
ted, and more virtuous community, than is included in the landscape 
encircling that lofty eminence. ‘To those towns Salem gave birth. 
We defy any city or country to point to brighter jewels. 

The sentiment to which I am responding, speaks of Salem and 
Danvers as one, although divided. This is true beyond the ordinary 
- import of the expression. These two towns have not only always been 
singularly united in sentiment, interest and customs, but one might 
almost dare to deny that they had ever been divided at all. To be 
sure, there is a municipal separation between them, but it is by a line 
so invisible and ideal that it is no easy thing to find it. A large portion 
of your population is in one continuous settlement, with no natural 
boundary or noticeable demarcation from us. I have lived for nearly 
thirty years in Salem, and been somewhat interested in her affairs, but 
I confess that I do not know, this day, where Salem ends, and where 
Danvers begins. It is indeed an imaginary, and some of us hope it 
will be found a vanishing line that separates us, 

Mr. President, it is a privilege accorded to parents to find fault with 
their children, while they will not allow others to do it. If any body 


126 


else, an outsider, should bring a charge against you, we Salem people 
would ‘be quick to resent it, but as among ourselves, in this family 
meeting, there is one complaint we have to make. Your distinguished 
orator has had something to say to-day about Salem Witchcraft. 
Everybody knows that all the rest of the world is equally responsible 
with us for that delusion; but by a sort of universal conspiracy, the sin 
is laid wholly at our door. We cannot visit a nook or corner of the 
globe but the story of the Salem Witchcraft stares us in the face. To 
this we have learned to submit; but for you Danvers people to talk 
about Salem Witchcraft is a little too much. Why, sir, you were the 
Kead and front, source and theatre of the whole affair. It rose and 
raged and kept its head quarters within your limits. It is your witch- 
craft. And we complain, that by getting incorporated as another town 
by another name, by assuming an alias, you have escaped and left the 
whole thing upon our hands, 

But while you thus adroitly avoid the reproach upon our name, we 
mean to settle the account by claiming a share of the honors that have 
gathered around yours. You may talk, if you choose, about Salem 
Witchcraft ; we will boast of Putnam, of the immortal proto-martyrs of 
the 19th of April, 1775, whose ashes rest beneath yonder monument, 
and of all that is excellent in your history and condition. They are 
ours as well as yours. Allow me, in return for the sentiment that. has 
called me out, to assure you, and the community you represent, that 
Salem rejoices in your prosperity, and is proud of your character, and 
to offer the following : 


Danvers and Salem—No municipal boundaries or legislative arrangements 
can sever the tie that binds them together. 


The PresipEntT then proposed the following sentiment : 


The Memory of Gen. Israel Putnam—As by his strong hand and stout heart 
he conferred credit and renown on his country, so the virtues and intelligence 
of those who bear his name confer honor on their native town. 


ALLEN PUTNAM, Esq., of Roxbury, spoke in reply to this as 


follows: 


Mr. President :—Though you name me as from Roxbury, I was — 
born in Danvers, and few present have- better claims than I to call 
themselves Danvers men; because my ancestors, for at least two hun- 
dred and eleven years, have dwelt upon the spot where | was born and > 
reared, 

Those bearing the name of Putnam are numerous. The orator of 
the day has called them prolific.—and they have been so. Not a tithe 
of those worthy of remembrance can be named in the short time that 
properly belongs to me. [had hoped that others of the same name 
would have been called upon to speak here,—especially one whose age 
and infirmities forbid his presence with us,—but whose nice discrimi- 
nation, legal knowledge, and polished pen adorn our. judicial reports, 
and by whom the ermine was long worn, and laid aside unsoiled.* 
Another, too, I had hoped to bring with me from my present home, 


* Hon. Samuel Putnam. 


127 


who could speak to you in strains of earnest eloquence, with strong 
good sense and playful ease. Had he come, the clergyman of Rox. 
bury* would have presented, in his own person, about as good a speci- 
men of itself as the family can now furnish. 

In their absence you see fit to call upon me. Nearly fifty years ago 
I began life four miles north from here,—away up in ‘“ ‘The Bush.” 
Secluded there, 1 knew little in my boyhood of this court end of the 
town. Once, however,—and it was soon after I began to strut and 
swell in my first jacket and trowsers,—they brought me down to spend 
a day at Capt. Sylvester Proctor’s. While there, a kind shop-boy led 
me out for my amusement, and conducted me down to the brook which 
runs hard by, and there, tying a twine to a stick, and crooking a pin 
for a fish hook, and turning over rocks to find a worm, he soon equipped 
me for my first exploits at fishing. And if I put things together aright, 
and reason correctly, that boy is now receiving a recompense for his 
kindness to me, as well as for his many other good deeds, in his ample 
means and ampler disposition to befriend his fellow-countrymen, and 
adorn the American name, in the metropolis of Great Britain. That 
boy was our distinguished townsman, GEorGE PEABODY. 

Let me return to “ the bush ;” and'running back into the past through 
my father Daniel, who sits beside me, and on whose head the snows of 
almost four score winters, spent in your midst, have fallen, and whom 
you know ; and through my grandfather Israel, a man of energy blended 
with kindness, and ‘* without guile ;” through them I reach David, my 
great-grandfather ; Lieutenant David, an officer in the king’s troops, 
and, as described to me by Col. Timothy Pickering and others, who 
had seen and known hin, “ the rider of the best horse in the Province,”’ 
and foremost among the resolute and energetic men of his day,—much 
like his younger brother, whose deeds gave lustre to the name. The 
sisters are handed down to us in the family tradition as remarkable for 
energy and fearlessness, riding colts, often without saddle or bridle,— 
and one of them, on one occasion, not dismounting until the, colt had 
carried her into the house and up one flight of stairs. The youngest of 
that family was Israel, the ** Old Put.” of the Revolution. “These res- 
olute and energetic brothers and sisters were true,—but no more than 
true,—to their parentage. 

Time has thrown deep shadows upon the decade from 1690 to 1700, 
and it may be that the objects now to be seen there are more of imag- 
ination than of true vision ; yet, often while musing upon some few 
facts which tradition hands down, and the church records partially sup- 
port, there has appeared, beneath the delusion of a former age and the 
dust of time, one luminous spot which the intervening generations have 
failed to mark. There were some deeds unmentioned in the recorded 
annals of town or church, which will bear bringing out from obscurity 
to the full light of day. 

The records of the church were then made and kept by a full be- 
liever in witchcraft. One side of the case is shown with fulness ; the 
other is to be read and filled up by the light and help of tradition. In 
the record, (I trust memory for more than twenty years,) the names of 
Joseph Putnam and Elizabeth Putnam appear as petitioners for a coun- 


* Rey. George Putnam. 


128 


cil, to try the Rev. Mr. Parris because of his harsh denunciations of 
those who disbelieved in witchcraft.as the work of the Devil. Tradition 
says that Mr. Parris denounced Joseph Putnam and others as the agents 
of Satan, and his assistants in promoting the very witchcraft which 
they professed to disbelieve. It says, also, that Joseph Putnam kept 
himself and his family armed for six months, day and night,—and that 
his horse was fed at the door, saddled and with bridle over his head 
through all that time. 

My grandfather Israel, his sister Eunice, and his brother Jesse,* 
(grandchildren of this Joseph and Elizabeth,) born within fifty or sixty 
years of the time referred to, and brought up upon the spot, have each 
repeatedly rehearsed these traditions in my hearing, and all the cir- 
cumstances known to me tend to support their correctness. 

Let me linger awhile upon these few facts, and the known opinions 
and events of that memorable period,—when the powers of darkness, 
and of all imaginable evils, were supposed to be working with unwonted 
diligence and success,—when some unseen but dreaded power was 
mysteriously contorting limbs,—strahgely moving meal-chests and 
chairs—putting the cow into the small goose-house,—and working other 
startling things past comprehension ; when the powers and perceptions 
of many persons were strangely enlarged and frightfully exerted,— 
when witchcraft enacted its many alarming feats ;—then was a time 
which truly and emphatically ‘ tried men’s souls.” 

When man meets man,—when nation contends with nation,—when 
one sees his enemy and can measure his strength and. power,—then 
reason may sit calmly upon her throne, and nerve the heart and the arm 
of many a common man to dare and to do bravely. But when the foes 
are the invisible powers of the air,—when terror and imagination may 
conjure up a direful enemy from behind each bush or rock by the way- 
side, from each dark hole in cellar or garret, from out the liquid water 
or the solid earth, from above, beneath or around,—when the general 
mind is alarmed and phrensied by the believed presence and agency 
of innumerable evil spirits;—when the clergy teach, when the church 
believes, and ‘the opinion spreads wide and deep through the public 
mind, that devils are peculiarly busy in deluding and destroying souls, 
—when witchcraft is treated as a fact, in the pulpit and in the halls of 
justice,—when the bewitched one has but to name the bewitcher, and 
that bewitcher, on such simple testimony, is sentenced to the gallows, 
—when all these things, and more than these, conspire to turn the 
brain and shake the nerves,—then how clear the head that can look 
through these dense, dark mists of phrensied popular delusion !—how 
strong and brave the heart that can withstand the mighty pressure, and: 
look with unquailing eye upon all the dangers with which devils and 
man can confront him! Such heads there were,—such hearts there 
were. Heroism was there, true and noble ; moral courage was there, 
lofty and adamantine ;—courage, far, far higher than that which was 
needed to lead one into the dark den of the savage wolf. 


* This Jesse was a graduate of Harvard, a merchant of Boston, known and 
distinguished for general intelligence, great urbanity, and a high sense of 
mercantile honor. A skilful weigher of evidence, and truthful, his narrations 
(containing many details not mentioned here)-are deemed good authority. 


129 


The slayer of the wolf,—the unquailing commander amid the 
dangers of the battle-field —stands second to none in point of courage ; 
and yet, if I read the dim past aright, his father and mother were not 
second to him. A single word from a bewitched one, naming the 
unbelieving Joseph as the author of the witchery, and the whole 
ecclesiastical, civil and military power of Salem would have: been set 
at work for his arrest and execution. Neighbors, relatives, fellow 
communicants of the church, were his foes; and yet he stood, for six 
long months, armed, vigilant, resolute, shielded by his own true courage 
and that God whom he dared to serve in honesty. 

The biographers of the General, regarding him only as a Dennett: 
cut man, never said much of his parentage. ‘They probably knew 
little or nothing of it. But he was a hero “descended from heroes ;” 
the son was a new edition of the father, more widely known and read, 
but not much improved. 

The father, though his own deluded age could not see or dared not 
acknowledge his greatness, and though concealed from the view of 
succeeding days by the shadows of time, yet seems to have stood firm 
and unharmed, amid the tempests and torrents of delusion, 


Like some tall cliff that lifts its rugged form, 

Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm— 
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, 
Eternal sunshine settles on its head ;— 


calm amid the marvels and terrors of witchcraft, a fit beacon light, 
it may be, for the present times. 

If the modern stories are true, tables and chairs are renewing their 
antics. It has not been my fortune to witness their leapings and danc- 
ings, but credible men say, in all soberness, that they have seen strange 
things, as marvellous as witchwork. So be it: convince me if you 
can that they are true, and I will believe them the same kind of opera- 
tions that so fearfully disturbed the peace of our town in days of old. 
Witchcraft and spiritual rappings are one and the same; but neither is 
supernatural,—neither demoniacal,—neither what need disturb even 
the most timid heart or the weakest brain. ‘Tell me how electricity or 
any other subtile agent, passing from my brain along the arm, makes 
my fingers move, and [ will tell you how electricity may lift the table 
without the help of hands. Both are inexplicable,—ncither supernat- 
ural,—one we see every hour,—the other only at long intervals,—one 
is the daily sun,—the other an eccentric comet,—both harmless,—aye, 
both useful,—obeying the laws of a wise and good God, and working 
out his beneficent purposes. Let the rappings be investigated, calmly, 
philosophically, and they will be found conforming themselves to the 
same laws which govern the motions of our fingers of flesh; they 
may become sources of instruction and valuable consolation. I know 
not what they are, have neither seen nor heard the wonders, but if it 
be heresy to disbelieve in them as the work of demons or evil spirits, 
or anything baleful, and if one shall anathematize me because of such 
heresy, he will find, at least I trust he will, enough of the old spirit 
transmitted to keep me true to my convictions, and true to the God 
who rules not only man but all spirits and all agents, whether in realms 

aM 


130 


below, around or above. At present, I neither believe, nor reject, nor 
fear. Let the marvels come; let tables, and meal-chests, and broom- 
sticks fly without visible help ; and what is there alarming in that? 
All will go on in obedience to that God who so long kept hid the 
lightning’s power to go in the twinkling of an eye and write our 
messages in New Orleans; and through all whose works, both of 
matter and of mind, are diffused vital germs of progress and new 
development. 

Electricity and magnetism are new in science,—new as controllable 
agents in the hands of man,—but yet have been pervading matter 
through all time, and have at intervals been working the wonders of 
demonology. Science may, ere long, find means to make these strange 
powers common, and train them to good service in lessening the evils 
.and promoting the true welfare of man. 

It may have been unwise in me to attempt to throw light into the 
‘darkness that shrouds my ancestors, and bring their deeds before you, 
because you thus are made to see that, as with wines, so with the 
Putnams, the old are better than the new. 


3 ° . 
The Presipent then announced the following sentiment, and called 


upon Hon. JOHN G. PALFREY : 


The County of Middlesexc—The home of Industry, Enterprise, and Literature. 
We welcome to our festive board one of her most distinguishéd sons, whose 
reputation for learning belongs to our country, but is known far beyond its 
boundaries. 


Mr. PALFREY responded nearly as follows :— 


IT rise, Mr. President, with some feelings of embarrassment, not for 
the want of a topic on which to remark, but from the great number 
and variety which press and crowd on my attention. I can make but 
a passing allusion to one or two. Let me first say, that his Honor the 
Mayor of Salem makes claims on you for a share of your ancestral 
honors on grounds of relationship which appear to me quite paradoxi- 
cal. The other gentleman from Salem, who has so happily and ably 
responded to the sentiment in honor of his distinguished ancestors, | 
seems to claim to be among the ancients, and to come from the first 
settlers of the soil. Jam not sure that I can see in the youthful coun- 
tenance of the gentleman any striking resemblance to the picture of 
his ancestor, which looks down from the walls of the Senate Chamber. 
There are some of us who look upon Governor Endicott as among the 
moderns in New England history. When the vessel which bore the 
first Governor of Massachusetts was entering the harbor of Salem, she 
was anxiously watched from the beach by four individuals, styled, in 
the quaint chronicles of the time, as ‘“‘ Roger Conant and three sober 
men.” ‘The vessel swung to her moorings and flung the red cross of 
St. George to the breeze, a boat put off for the shore, and, that the 
Governor might land dry shod, Roger Conant and his “three sober 
men”’ rolled up their pantaloons,—or rather those nether garments 
which we in these degenerate days call pantaloons,—waded into the 
water and bore him on their shoulders to the dry land. Roger Conant 
and his sober men had been here a long time, but how long it is un- 


131 


necessary to state, but so long that the houses they had built sadly 
needed repair. Now these three sober men were—Balch, Woodbury, 
and the third bore a surname* which I forbear to mention, but will 
only say that it was one which it becomes me not to disgrace. 

Some allusion has been made here, Mr. President, to the Witchcraft 
delusion of your ancestors, It is sadly true, sir, that this great delu- 
sion existed, yet I think a good word may be said in behalf of the 
actors. May it not have been that your ancestors acted from high and 
holy motives, from excessive zeal for what ‘they regarded as God’s 
will? ‘The superstition of witchcraft was the dismal error of the times, 
and your ancestors, not being wiser than the wisest of their cotempo- 
raries on both sides of the water, had their full share in the delusion. | 
Can any of us say that had we lived in that day we would have seen 
deeper into things than Sir Edward Coke and Sir Matthew Hale? Yet 
those sages of the law held the same doctrine on the same subject of 
witchcraft as the Massachusetts fathers, and expounded and adminis- 
tered it in the Court of the King’s Bench. And let me tell you, that 
in that awfully dark passage of our early history, all is not darkness. 
In one view it appears lighted up with a lurid, indeed, but with a ma- 
jestic blaze. If this witchcraft madness has left a peculiar blot upon 
the history of Massachusetts, it is because of this great difference be- 
tween her people and that of other communities whose annals bear no 
such stain, viz., that what both alike professed to believe, the former 
more consistently and honestly acted out. Deplore as we may the 
grievous infatuation, still more even than we Jament and condemn that, 
we find cause to applaud the brave and constant spirit that would never 
quail before the awful delusion that possessed it. It was no less than 
tne powers of darkness that these men believed to be in arms against 
them. And they did not shrink even from that contest ; they feared 
neither man nor the devil; they feared nothing but God. They im- 
agined the Prince of Hell, with his legions, to be among them, ‘the 
sacramental host of God’s elect,” seeking among them whom he might 
devour ; and they gave place to him ‘“ by subjection, no, not for an 
hour.’ Set upon by invisible and supernatural foes, they thought of 
nothing but stern defiance, deadly battle, and the victory which God 
would give his people. They would have made bare the arm of flesh 
against the Serpent in bodily presence, could he have put on an assail 
able shape. As it was, they let it fall without mercy on those whom 
they understood to be his emissaries. 

I cannot close without paying my tribute of respect to the memory 
of your late distinguished fellow-citizen, the representative of this dis- 
trict in the Congress of the United Siates. I knew him well. As 
colleagues in the thirtieth Congress, our public duties brought us into 
daily intercourse. During our most agreeable and intimate friendship, 
I felt a growing respect for his sound intellect, his warm patriotism, 
and his reliable judgment. The faithful and conscientious performance 
of all his duties as a friend, a citizen, and a statesman, justly entitle 
Mr. King to the name of a Christian patriot. 

Without enlarging upon his many sterling qualities, which nin 
already been alluded to by several speakers, I cannot better illustrate 


* Peter Palfrey. 


132 


his entire devotion to public business,—which was equalled only by the 
warm and genial impulses of his heart,—than by relating an incident 
which is still fresh in my recollection. 

On the occasion to which I allude, the House had been occupied for 
several days in the discussion of an important question of public policy. 
The debate was now drawing to a close, and the House had remained 
in session during the entire night. ‘Towards morning I approached his 
seat, and I observed that he met my salutation with a countenance less 
bland, and a response less cordial than usual. Knowing the deep in- 
terest he had felt in the debate, I naturally attributed his unwonted 
manner to the fatigue we all felt from our protracted sittings. I play- 
fully alluded to these circumstances, and, in reply, he placed in my 
hands an unsealed letter that lay on his table, requesting me to read it. 
I did so. It contained the sad intelligence that a beloved daughter was 
dangerously sick, and lay, it was feared, at the point of death. Per- 
ceiving from its date that it must have been in his possession for 
considerable time, I inquired why he had not started for his home 
immediately on receiving it. ‘‘I cannot leave,” said he, ‘ until the 
final yote on this question is taken.”” The vote was taken that night, 
and in a few hours he was on his way to Massachusetts; but, ere this, 
the spirit of his child had departed,—his home was desolate,—and he 
arrived barely in time to attend the funeral. 

I will detain you no longer, Mr. President, than to thank you for the 
kind allusion to me in your resolution, and to express the intense satis- 
faction I have felt in participating in the magnificent display and inter- 
esting festivities of this occasion. 


To a sentiment in honor of those citizens of Danvers who have 
adorned the Bench and the Bar, ALFRED A. ABBOTT, ye! ., first 


Vice President of the day, responded as follows : e 


Mr. President :—I could have wished that some one worthier than 
myself, some one of the many distinguished strangers who gladden and 
grace our festive board to-day, could have been called upon to respond — 
to the sentiment you have just announced. But as you have been | 
pleased to assign this duty to me, I know not how better to relieve my 
own embarrassment and the patience of this assembly, than by address- 
ing myself at once, and very briefly, to the theme which your senti- 
ment suggests. 

Distinguished as have been many of the sons and citizens of this an- 
cient town in other spheres of action and walks of life, few, if any of 
them, have ever had more signal success or a brighter fame, than some 
of those who, on the bench and at the bar, dignified and adorned the 
profession of the law. I propose to allude to three or four names, 
certainly worthy to be mentioned on an occasion like this, when we» 
may be expected, with a pride neither ill-timed nor immodest, to com- 
memorate all those whose character and virtues have brightened our 
local annals.’ And the first name, sir, is that of Samuel Holten,—or, 
as he is more popularly remembered, Judge Holten. He was not bred 
to the bar, but, at the early age of eighteen, begun the duties of active 
life as a physician, in which profession he continued with success and 


133 


growing reputation for some sixteen years.’ In 1768, at the age of 
thirty, he commenced a public career which ended only with his life, 
at the advanced age of nearly four score,—a half century of as active 
and useful labor as was performed by but few men of his times. He 
was eight years a representative in the General Court, five in the Sen- 
ate, twelve in the Council, five in Congress as a representative under 
the Confederation, (of which august body he was chosen President,) 
and.two years under the Federal Constitution. This was his distin- 
guished career as a legislator,—in which, relinquishing entirely his 
profession and all private business, he devoted himself wholly to the 
service of his country. A patriot, in times when patriotism was more 
than a name, few men were so active and influential from the very 
outset of the revolutionary struggle to its triumphant close. And in 
the troubled times which succeeded, when the good ship,—an argosy 
freighted with a world’s hopes,—which so gallantly had rode out the 
storm and tempest of the battle, came nigh to being stranded even on 
the very shore which was to be the haven of her eventful voyage, this 
man was one of those whose sober reason, unerring judgment, and 
calm but stern resolve assuaged the mutinous strife, and conducted the 
high but perilous endeavor to its successful and glorious accomplish- 
ment. Equally distinguished was Judge Holten’s judicial career. For 
thirty-two years he was one of the Judges of the Court of Common 
Pleas, presiding half of that time ; thirty-five years a Justice of the 
Court of General Sessions, fifteen of those years being Chief Justice 
of the same; and nineteen years Judge of Probate for the county of 
Essex. Intelligent and incorruptible, presiding with dignity, hearing 
with patience, and deciding promptly, his native good sense and great 
information, joined to a certain natural aptitude for the duties of the 
station, made him a highly capable and efficient magistrate, and se- 
cured him the entire confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens. 

Such, sir, is a meagre outline of the man and his services. It is all 
that the time will allow me to give.. But I know that you and all pres- 
ent will sympathize with me as 1 express the hope that the time may 
never come when we shall forget this name and bright example of a 
former day, or fail to cherish and honor its memory. 

The next name to which I shall allude is that of one who still lives 
in our midst,—I mean the Hon. Samuel Putnam. The family to which 
he belongs is now and always has been a numerous one within our 
borders, and many of its sons in different professions have acquired far 
more than a local celebrity. But no one of them has illustrated the 
family name with a purer life, higher virtues, or juster fame, than him 
of whom I now speak. After a highly honorable and extensive prac- 
tice at the bar, in which he developed the powers of a strong mind 
trained by severe study, and accomplished in exact yet comprehensive 
learning, Judge Pytnam was raised to the bench of the Supreme Court. 
For more than a quarter of a century did he fulfil, ably and faithfully, 
the duties of this high station, doing his full part to sustain and elevate 
that reputation of our Supreme Bench for profound learning and judicial 
wisdom which has made its decisions standard and indisputable author- 
ity throughout the land. Our Reports contain a great number of his 
opinions, elaborate and rich, than which few are cited with more fre- 


134 


quency, or held in higher respect. At length, when the weight of 
increasing years began to oppress him, Judge Putnam voluntarily put 
off the judicial ermine, with a rare delicacy and commendable good 
sense resigning his lofty trust, while yet his mental vigor was unabated, 
and retiring upon his well-earned and still fresh laurels to the joys and 
comforts of private life. To pursue the sketch further might seem ill- 
timed, It is enough to say that our venerable townsman still survives, 
the ornament and pride of a large circle, surrounded by all 








oi which should accompany old age, 
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,” 


and that the proud regards of his fellow-citzens may well join in the 
prayer of private affection, 
“Serus in celum redeat!” 


The third name, sir, I must pass over quite as briefly,—the name of 
one who was not a native of Danvers, nor is he now a resident, but 
who here commenced his professional life, and dwelt among us long 
enough to attach himself closely to the hearts of our people, and to en- 
title us to claim him in making up our jewels. I speak, sir, of Rufus 
Choate,—the lawyer, whose profound learning, acute logic, and honeyed 
speech have swayed grave judges and led juries captive,—the poli- 
ticlan, whose comprehensive statesmanship and graceful oratory have 
instructed and delighted listening senates,—the scholar, whose varied 
accomplishments and classic tastes have been the admiration of students 
and men of letters,—the man of the people, whose genial sympathies 
have won the hearts, and whose matchless, burning eloquence has 
ruled the passions, of vast popular assemblies. But it is upon his claims 
as a lawyer, more particularly as an advocate, that Mr. Choate’s fame 
will and properly should rest. As such, neither American nor British 
legal biography can furnish many prouder names, of men who pos- 
sessed equal powers, or whose careers were crowned with such brill- 
iancy and success. It will always be to us, sir, a matter of pride, (nor 
will he fail gratefully to cherish the recollection,) that this distinguished 
man here won his earlicst garlands, and that the people of Danvers first 
presented him as a candidate for the popular suffrages, and always 
sustained him with an enthusiasm which did equal honor to him and 
credit to themselves. Although of the generation of most of those who 
participate in our present festivities and yet on the swelling tide of his 
triumphs, it will not seem indecorous that he should have received thus 
much of tribute from those who will ever claim the privilege of cher- 
ishing his fame with peculiar care. 

And now, Mr, President, pardon me a few moments longer while I 
perform a brief labor of love. It was my privilege to pursue a portion 
of my studies, preparatory to the Bar, in the office of one who, as was 
the case with Mr. Choate, was not a native of Danvers, but who, like 
him, commenced practice here, and for many years was identified with 
the interests of our people; of one who was cheered by the affections 
and honored with the respect of many whom I see around me, as he 
was by the regards of all, both here and elsewhere, with whom he was 
associated, either in business or social relations; one whose early 


135 


manhood redeemed in part the bright promise given by his youth of 
extensive usefulness and lasting fame, but whom an untimely death 
cut down at the very threshold of the eminent career upon which he 
had so hopefully entered. I need not say, sir, that I refer to the late 
Joshua Holyoke Ward. He was to me more than a master,—he was 
my friend, and I should wrong my own feelings as well as do injustice 
to departed worth, did [ fail to recall his virtues, and claim on this 
occasion a tribute to his memory. Mr. Ward was graduated at Cam- 
bridge, and pursued his professional studies at the Dane Law School, 
and in the office of Mr. Saltonstall, at Salem. On his admission to the 
bar, he opened his office in Danvers, where he remained until his 
increasing reputation caused his removal to the principal shire town of 
the county. ‘A careful, regular, and indefatigable student,” his learn- 
ing and logical powers gave him great weight with the court; while a 
uniform affability, ‘ready wit, unequalled tact, earnest manner, and 
eloquent speech, all combined to win for him the favor of the jury 
and the success of his cause. At Nist Prius, few men with whom he 
was called to compete equalled him, certainly none of his own age 
and terms at the bar excelled him. In 1844, Mr. Ward was appointed 
an associate Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. Striking as had 
been his success as a counsellor and advocate, his success as a judge 
was even more marked, Although fresh from those sharp forensic 
encounters in which he had engaged with such warmth and manifest 
pleasure, and which are supposed to develope habits of thought and 
traits of mind not the most favorable for the proper discharge of the 
judicial functions, and although he was taken away before he had 
hardly more time than would seem to have been requisite to adjust his 
robes of office, yet such had been his training, such were his natural 
powers, his aptness and fitness, that he presented at once a model 
example of judicial character and excellence, and made and left a 
broad and shining mark. ‘To quote the criticism of a high authority, 
** Judge Ward, at the time of his death, was the youngest judge of 
any court of record in Massachusetts, and had held a seat on the bench 
for only the short term of four years; and yet it is true of him, that 
he had lived and served long enough to acquire a reputation which is 
rarely attained for legal learning and skill, and to furnish a model of 
judicial exactness and accuracy, of facility in the despatch of business, 
and of courtesy and impartiality in his intercourse with counsel and 
all parties in court, which has been acknowledged in terms of str Ing 
commendation by the bars of all the counties. * * * = * 

As a counsellor and judge, he was remarkable for a quick and ready 
perception of the points of a case, of the proper application of princi- 
ples and precedents, and of the bearing of evidence. His views were 
conceived and expressed with a remarkable clearness; and it was 
never difficult for him to make palpable, alike to counsel and to juries, 
the precise state of the law, and the material testimony, on which he 
saw that a case must turn. In criminal cases he was eminently suc- 
cessful in assuring the counsel, on both sides, that they should have 
the full benefit of every rule of law, and that exact justice would be 
dispensed in the mode of conducting the trial * * * * * 
Judge Ward was compelled to terminate abruptly a term of the Munic- 


136 


ipal Court, (at Boston,) when he returned home to pass through his 
last struggle with the excruciating disease which, for several years, 
had threatened the early termination of his life. It serves to increase 
our admiration of his judicial career, and especially of the cheerful 
spirit which he always exhibited, to be thus reminded that the heavy 
labors which devolved upon him were mostly performed while he was 
in a state of bodily infirmity, and often under the torture of the most 
acute suffering.” Such, sir, was the professional character of our 
former neighbor and friend, whose loss is so much to be deplored. 
Most of you remember what he was:in other relations, how active and 
useful a citizen, how upright and honorable a man, how amiable and 
attractive in social life; if not, go ask of his brethren, who still cherish 
with peculiar fondness the recollection alike of his public usefulness 
and private virtues. I esteem it an especial privilege to have had the 
opportunity, long desired, of recalling him in this public manner, and 
of testifying my affectionate regards for the memory of one who was, 
with more truth than the poet could say, ; 


4 “My guide, philosopher and friend.” 


I have thus, Mr. President, in a humble way, in such a manner as 
my poor judgment suggested, performed the task you assigned me. 
I have not alluded to some names which perhaps should have been 
mentioned ; I selected those which by common consent towered above 
all. I can only add that there have been others of the legal profession 
in our midst, from time to time, of great ability and worth, whose 
services secured the patronage, and whose virtues won the confidence 
and commanded the respect of their fellow-citizens. Nor, sir, have [I 
time to dwell upon any of those general reflections which naturally 
occur to the mind upon such a review as we have had. Certainly 
here, too, as in everything that relates to our local history, there is 
good cause for congratulation. Let us hope that the future will be as 
honorable as the past. Let us, each and all, and those who come after 
us, so live and act, that: when another hundred years shall have passed 
away, those who then ‘celebrate this day and review the generations 
which have gone, shall find in the retrospect equal cause for rejoicing. 
and pride. 


The next sentiment was— 


The Imitative and Fine Arts—These are appropriately represented here by 
the presence of one of our native citizens, the recollections of whose childhood 
and youth are engraved on his memory. We feel that his fellow-citizens have 
a right to some of the proof wmpressions. 


To this, GEORGE G. SMITH, Esq., of Boston, responded : 


I suppose, Mr. President, that, according to custom in such cases, I 
must take this kind sentiment as calling upon me to speak, and this, of 
course, I am quite willing to do,—strange if I were not, amid the 
wealth of incentives which are showered upon me by the scene around 
us. Unfortunately, however, I do not feel myself exactly qualified to 
speak, except upon what relates to the order to which I belong. What 
[ have to say, therefore, will be of the Operative, and his relations to 
this occasion and to society. 


137 


What is it, then, which has so built up the. prosperity of our native 
town? What is the secret of her progress in so short a time from 
what she was to what she is? It is, is it not, the industry, skill, and 
perseverance of her mechanics? her men of toil? her hard-handed 
and clear-headed aristocracy of labor? the only aristocracy which I 
trust will ever obtain, within her borders, either respect or influence. 

Why, let us look, sir, at the Danvers of the early part of the present 
century ; she then contained, I believe,;something short of 8U00 in- 
habitants; and in the manufacture of leather, for instance,—then, as 
now, her principal product,—there were, as I well remember, from 
Frye’s mill up the stream, first Fitch Poole’s and Ward Poole’s tan- 
yards, then Squiers Shove’s, then Edward Southwick’s, and then Den- 
ison Wallace’s; and these were all on that road. There was one in 
the lane, I believe the oldest of all, good old Deacon Poor’s, where I 
have an indistinct recollection of having seen some of the large tubs 
still remaining, which tradition had handed down as having been for 
many years the good deacon’s only vats. And there were two, I think, 
in New Mills. As for any other branch of handicraft, excepting the: 
time-honored manufactories of Danvers china, on Gape lane and South- 
wick’s lane, there was really nothing at all, of any extent. To be sure, 
good old Uncle Henry Buxton had formerly carried on his trade of 
buckle-making, in a little shop situated, I think, between the last Bux-. 
ton house and Deacon Poor’s ; but we never saw any of the products: 
of his ingenuity, for, poor man! his occupation was gone in our day,. 
and had been since that memorable morning when George, Prince of 
Wales, made his appearance in London streets with shoe strings :: 
then buckles became unfashionable, and, of course, buckle makers were: 
no longer wanted. 

The little shop, however, with its closed windows showing that its: 
trade was dead, was an object of great interest to the young America 
of that day, and | remember we used to look at it with a sort of awe- 
struck curiosity, arising, | suppose, from our indefinite ideas of the 
unknown operations formerly carried on there. 

But these good, sleepy, Rip-Van-Winkle days, however, had their 
pleasant side. It was a pleasant place, then, this old town of ours, 
when there were green fields and shady walks where now are dusty 
streets and busy factories. I shall never forget the old back way. by 
the pond, with its locust trees, loading the air in the season of blossoms 
with their honey-like fragrance. And the pond; not as now, but un- 
shorn of its fair proportions, its green banks sloping gently down to the 
clear water, and bordered with bright rushes and flowery water plants. 
But these contrastings of what was with what is, missing the old famil- 
iar faces as well as the old familiar places, are unprofitable. What is, 
must be. Let us be thankful, then, for what we have,—in this occa- 
sion particularly,—and enjoy it, as God means it to be enjoyed. 

To return to our subject. In contrast to what I have described, you 
have now about forty tanneries in the South Parish and in New Mills, 
with about 3000 vats, in which are tanned some 150,000 hides per: 
annum, producing annually leather to the amount of perhaps half a 
million of dollars, and giving employment to hundreds of industrious; 
workmen. 

18 


138 


The shoe business, too, has grown up entirely within the last twenty- 
five years, and adds, perhaps, half a million yearly to the value of 
your products. I say nothing of other handicrafts consequent on these, 
nor of manufactories, which would of course greatly swell the aggre- 
gate amount and value of industrial results ; | wish merely to call your 
attention to the enormous increase from, say 1804, when your popula- 
tion was between two and three thousand, and the value of your pro- 
ducts perhaps $100,000 at most, to 1852, when your population is 
more than 8000, and the value of your products certainly two millions ! 

Now this immense increase in amount and value of the products of 
industry you certainly owe to your mechanics ; they have made it all ! 
It may be said, with the aid of capital. True ; but who made the 
capital ? How was it made? Was it created by any mysterious 
process aside from the labor of human hands? Not at all; capital is, 
and must always be, as much the result of hand labor employed in 
some way, as the building of a house, or the construction of a machine. 

The mechanic, then, or rather the operative,—the Farmer, the Me- 
chanic, and the Artisan,—they are in some sense now, and are getting 
to be more and more, I say, the preponderating and therefore the influ- 
ential class. Let us take the facts then which prove this growing pre- 
ponderance of the operative. 

In our own country, by the census of 1810,—the only one which as 
yet has classified the professions,—there were engaged in agriculture 
and manufactures, more than ninety per cent. of the inhabitants ; in 
England, by the census of the same year, something like eighty per 
cent. ; in France, in 1817, by the estimate of Count Laborde, about 
eighty-two per cent.; and in the city of Glasgow, in 1831, more than 
fifty per cent., exclusive, of course, of agriculturists. And judging 
from what has formerly taken place, this preponderance of operatives 
has increased rather than diminished. 

Now these data would, on merely numerical grounds, settle the 
question ; but there is another element in the influence of this class, 
which is gradually bringing about changes so impartant, that the mind 
grows dizzy when it contemplates their possible, nay their inevitable, 
results. I mean that ever-increasing intelligence which is continually 
bringing more and more upon an intellectual level the various classes 
of society the world over; but particularly in this country. Who can 
estimate the changes which this simple consequence of human ad- 
vancement, too much overlooked as it seems to me, is destined to make 
in the world. We cannot foresee precisely what they will be; they 
will be gradual, no doubt ; they may occupy ages, for aught we know, 
for their full accomplishment: but we do know, we can foresee, that 
when the day arrives in which the term “ educated classes” shall have 
lost its meaning, because all classes are educated ; when the operative 
class has all needed knowledge within itself, requiring no aid from any 
other ; then—who can doubt it >—the whole face of society must be 
changed. And, however it may square with our present ideas, sym- 
pathies, or prejudices, the fact is nevertheless certain, that in the 
viele future,—in some shape or other,—the etka must be its 

ing 

1 beg you, Mr. President, to believe that I do not make these 


139 


remarks in any wild spirit of radicalism. Iam, in the ordinary sense 
of the word, no radical, that is, no destructionist. I see far too much 
of the mischief which untimely theories have done to the cause of free- 
dom in other lands, to broach them here. I believe, in fact, that true 
progress can go on only under an enlightened conservatism. I believe 
in God’s providence ; that he ‘* governs this world with gracious de- 
sign; and I recognize his hand as evidently in this, to my view, 
. inevitable consequence of the law of progress, as I do in everything else. 

There is another principle which the operative will come more and 
more to see; it is this: that his position has been, throughout the ages, 
precisely that to which his intelligence entitled him. This, I think, 
history establishes beyond a doubt; and he will naturally conclude, 
therefore, that, as it has been in the past, so will it be in the future. 
Suppose, for instance, that the rude serf or mechanic of the Middle 
Ages, (to go no farther back,) had been entrusted with the power, or 
enjoyed the consideration, which is the operative’s privilege here, and 
now. What could he have done with them, but sink himself still 
deeper in the abyss of degradation and sensuality to which his igno- 
rance then necessarily confined him. With advancing intelligence, 
come advancing privileges and respect. Has it not always been so, 
and will it not always be so? And will not the operative, as he gains 
knowledge, voluntarily decline to grasp a power, or a social position, 
which he cannot wield nor enjoy, while he has the certainty that, in 
proportion as he becomes able to wield and enjoy them, they will,— 
and, by the law of Providence, naturally must,—fall into his hands ? 
And [ look therefore upon this consequence of advancement with en- 
tire trust that all will be well. ‘True progress permits no violent up- 
rooting of existing institutions; its march will be gradual,—tranquil. 
Wiser and wiser will its directors grow, from age to age; and its full 
consummation will be benevolence and peace. 

Now, Mr. President, I am aware that these opinions of mine, founded 
as I verily believe they are upon sound principles, may, nevertheless, 
be wrong. I am aware that, as thousands wiser than I am have done, 
I may have overlooked some element in the calculation, which should 
entirely reverse its conclusions. But, as the more I think on what I 
have said, the more firmly persuaded am | of its truth, and, moreover, 
as I see so much in the scene around me to confirm ‘this persuasion, 
I must be permitted to hold fast the faith till I am fairly beaten out of it. 

I have said that I see much in the scene around me to confirm these 
conclusions ; and is it not so? In what other country, under heaven, 
could we look upon an assembly like this, convened under circum- 
stances of such perfect social equality ? Point me out, if you can, the 
aristocratic element of this celebration? Look at our good Orator! 
He belongs to one of the learned professions, you say. ‘True, but his 
family was not one of the ‘* Robe,” as they used to say in France, be- 
fore the revolution. His good father,—a stalwart specimen he was, too, 
of our legitimate aristocracy,—would have found himself sadly troubled 
I know by any other robe than his good, old, homespun farmer’s frock 
and trowsers. And my old and respected friend the Poet of the day, 
whose well-remembered voice has awakened in my soul so many long- 
buried memories, he will not claim kindred, either, with any other 
aristocracy than this, | know. 


140 


And it is just so with all of us; the scent of the clay, or the shoe- 
maker’s wax, or of the tan, or the blacksmith’s forge, or the carpen- 
ter’s shavings, or some taint of the sort, sticks to us all ; and are we 
ashamed of it? Nota whit. We rejoice, do we not, that we come 
of a stock which was not born, as used to be said of old, merely * to 
consume the fruits of the earth.” We and our fathers before us have 
been, thank God, producers, and not consumers merely ; and ‘* so mote 
it be,” henceforth and forever, amen. 

And now, Mr. President, I cannot look upon this scene, redolent of 
happiness as it is, and fraught with early recollections, with bright eyes 
‘“‘ raining: influence,” and gray heads rejoicing in the glances of love 
around them, and in the sense of security and peace, without giving 
one thought to those institutions to which, under God, we owe it all. 
Our Country, Mr. President ; our whole Country! with no North, nor 
South, nor East, nor West! O for a little old-fashioned patriotism, 
when we hear her named! O for that spirit which led the young sons 
of Danvers, in the times which tried men’s souls, to brave, at their 
country’s call, danger and death in her service! for less of exclusive 
devotion to mere party! and for more trust in God, that, without the 
least necessity for violence, or bitterness of feeling, or extreme meas- 
ures of any kind, he will, in his own good time, silently and gradually 
remove all there is of imperfection or wrong, either in our institutions 
or national character ! 

Mr. President: I have detained you too long, I am aware, but must 
throw myself upon the mercy of my fellow-townsmen, and my towns- 
women also, and endeavor, in some measure, to excuse myself by the — 
remark, that had I not felt the strongest interest in our town, and her 
concerns and her people, and the influences which have made them 
what they are, I should not have made so long a speech. 1 will close 
with the following sentiment : 


The Son of Labor all over the World—Who touches the earth and it becomes 
food; who smites upon the rude matter and it becomes gold and silver; who 
lays his hand upon the cotton and the wool, and the rock, and the timber, and 
the clay, and they become clothing and shelter. May his usefulness in the 
future be only measured by his intelligence, and his intelligence by the love _ 
and respect of his fellow-men. 


The PRESIDENT of the day being about to retire, called upon the 
first Vice President to take the chair. Mr. ABBOTT having left the 
table, W. L. WESTON, Esgq., second Vice President, was called, and 
upon taking the chair expressed his regret that, by the absence of the 
first Vice President, the duties of presiding over the assembly had 
devolved upon him. Although in assuming the station he felt much 
embarrassment on account of his inexperience in such duties, yet he 
should rely with great confidence on the candor and indulgence of the 
‘company to sustain him in his new position. 


It having become known among the guests that a communication 
had been received from Grorce Peazopy, Esq., of London, the read- 
ing of it was called for. It was preceded by the following sentiment, 
the announcement of which, and the response it elicited, exciting an 
intense sensation. The sentiment was— , 

+. 


141 


Our Fellow-Citizen, Gtorcre Prapopy, of London—Holding the highest 
rank among Nature’s noblemen, and distinguished in the great centre of the 
Commercial World, he has always done much for the credit and honor of his 
country, and has remembered, with kindness and affection, the place of his 
birth. Danvers may well feel a just pride in the successful career of such a 
son. 


JOHN W. PROCTOR, Esq., then rose, and, holding in his hand a 
sealed packet, read the following letter :— 


Lonpon, 26th May, 1852. 
GENTLEMEN :— , 

I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, inviting 
me to be present at the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary 
of the separation of Danvers from Salem, on the 16th of June, or, if 
not able to attend, to signify, by letter, my interest in the occasion. 

I am very sorry that my engagements allow me to comply only with 
the latter part of your request. 

I should have the greatest pleasure in joining in your interesting 
celebration there, if possible. The early associations of my life are 
clustered around our ancient town. It was, as many of you know, in 
a very humble house in the South Parish that I was born, and from the 
Common Schools of that Parish, such as they were in 1803 to 1807, 
I obtained the limited education my parents’ means could afford ; but 
to the principles there inculcated in childhood and early youth, I owe 
much of the foundation for such success as Heaven has been pleased 
to grant me during a long business life. ‘Though my manhood, before 
coming to England, was spent in Baltimore, (which shares with my 
native town in my kindest feelings,) I still cherish the recollections of 
my earlier days, and anticipate, with much pleasure, a visit to the Old 
Parish, that 1 may witness the great strides I am told you have been 
making in wealth and improvements. 

It is now nearly sixteen years since I left my native country, but I 
can say with truth that absence has only deepened my interest in her 
welfare. During this interval I have seen great changes in her wealth, 
in her power, and in her position among nations. I have had the mor- 
tification to witness the social standing of Americans in Europe very 
seriously affected, and to feel that it was not entirely undeserved ; but, 
thank Heaven, I have lived to see the cause nearly annihilated by the 
energy, industry, and honesty of my countrymen,—thereby creating 
bétween_ the people of the two great nations speaking the English 
language, and governed by liberal and free institutions, a more cordial 
and kind feeling than has existed at any other time. The great increase 
of population and commerce of the United States,—the development 
of the internal wealth of the country and enterprise of her people, have 
done much to produce this happy change, and I can scarcely see ~ 
bounds to our possible future, if we preserve harmony among ourselves 
and good faith to the rest of the world, and if we plant the unrivalled 
New England institution of the Common School liberally among the 
emigrants who are filling up the great valley of the Mississippi. That 
this may be done, is, I am persuaded, no less your wish than mine. 

I enclose a sentiment, which I ask may remain sealed till this letter 


142 


is read on the day of celebration, when it is to be opened according to 
the direction on the envelope. 
With great respect, 
I have the honor to be, 
p Your fellow-townsman, 
GEORGE PEABODY. 
To Messrs. John W. Proctor, Andrew Nichols and others. 


The endorsement on the envelope was as follows :— 


[The seal of this is not to be broken till the toasts are being pro- 
posed by the chairman, at the dinner 16th June, at Danvers, in com- 
memoration of the one hundredth year since its severance from Salem. 
It contains a sentiment for the occasion from George Peabody, of 


London. ] 
By Georce Peazopy, of London: 
Education—A debt due from present to future generations. 


In acknowledgment of the payment of that debt by the generation 
which preceded me in my native town of Danvers, and to aid in its 
prompt future discharge, I give to the inhabitants of that town the sum 
of ‘Twenty THousanp Dotuars, for the promotion of knowledge 
and morality among them. | 

I beg to remark, that the subject of making a gift to my native town 
has for some years occupied my mind, and | avail myself of your 
present interesting festival to make the communication, in the hope 
that it will add to the pleasures of the day. 

I annex to the gift such conditions only as I deem necessary for its 
preservation and the accomplishment of the purposes before named. 
The conditions are, that the legal voters of the town, at a meeting to 
be held at a convenient time after the 16th June, shall accept the gift, 
and shall elect a committee of not less than twelve persons, to receive 
and have charge of the same, for the purpose of establishing a Lyceum 
for the delivery of lectures, upon such subjects as may be designated 
by a committee of the town, free to all the inhabitants, under such 
rules as said committee may from time to time enact; and thata 
Library shall be obtained, which shall also be free to the inhabitants, 
under the direction of the committee. : 

That a suitable building for the use of the Lyceum shall be erected, 
at a cost, including the land, fixtures, furniture, &c., not exceeding 
Seven Thousand dollars, and shall be located within one third of a mile 
of the Presbyterian Meeting-House occupying the spot of that formerly 
under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Walker, in the South Parish of 
Danvers. 

That Ten Thousand dollars of this gift shall be invested by the town’s 
committee in undoubted securities as a permanent fund, and the inter- 
est arising therefrom to be expended in support of the Lyceum. 

In all other respects, I leave the disposition of the affairs 'of the 
Lyceum to the inhabitants of Danvers, merely suggesting that it might 
be advisable for them, by their own act, to exclude sectarian theology 
and political discussions forever from the walls of the institution. » 


143 


I will make one request of the committee, which is, if they see no 
objection, and my venerable friend Capt. Sylvester Proctor should be 
living, that he be selected to lay the corner stone of the Lyceum 
Building. Respectfully yours, - 

GEORGE PEABODY. 


After the announcement of the donation by Mr. Peabody, Mr. 
Proctor remarked substantially as follows :— 


Mr. Chairman— 

{ scarcely know which to admire most, the liberality of the. gift, 
or the modesty of the giver. A princely donation like this, for a pure 
pose like this, to a place like this, is no ordinary occurrence. We 
hear of the donations of Girard, of Smithson, of Buzzy, and of others, 
‘ in amounts larger than this ; but where is there one, all things consid- 
ered, that will begin to compare with this? Look at the sentiment 
accompanying it: ‘* Education—A debt due from present to future 
generations.”» What more simple? Still, what could be more express 
sive? Look also at the recognition, by Mr. Peabody, of the Village 
School, under the shadow of the steeple of the old Church, where he, 
and I, and many others present, were first taught to lisp their A, B, C, 
and see how readily he admits, it was there ‘he imbibed the princi- 
ples which have been the foundation of the success, which Heaven has 
been pleased to grant him, during a long business life.” Can there be 
a higher eulogy than this, upon our New England system of Free 
Schools ? 

When a boy, sir, I knew Mr. Peabody well. Our ages were such 
that we went to the same school, and developed our physical energies 
on the same play-grounds. From the first, he was manly and honora- 
ble, as he ever since has been. Nothing small or mean about George 
Peabody. If anything wrong was done, he was the. last to be sus- 
pected of doing it. I say this, sir, for the information of those of my 
young friends who seem to think there is something manly in being 
forward to do mischief; in being most active in overturning outbuild- 
ings, or breaking the windows of retired gentlemen, or disturbing the 
repose of discreet young ladies. They mistake, entirely, who indulge 
any such ideas. Peabody never did any such things. While I knew 
him, he was a civil, well-behaved, trustworthy young man,—and now, 
my young friends, you see what he has ripened into ;—the first among 
the foremost of Americans in London ; a nobleman by nature, of rank 
second to none other. 

It has been my good fortune, sir, to have repeated communications 
from Mr. Peabody since he became a man. As early as 1835, when 
he resided at Baltimore, the citizens of South Danvers undertook to 
- erect a monument to the memory of those of our fellow-townsmen who 
were killed at Lexington, on the 19th of April, 1775. When we had 
raised by subscription $700, and ascertained that the structure designed 
would cost $1000, I advised him of the facts, and received’from him a 
prompt reply, saying that ‘*he was happy to learn that his fellow- 
townsmen of Danvers were about to do, what had been too long 
neglected, and that my draft on him, at sight, for whatever might be 


144 


needed to complete the design, should be duly honored.” The work 
was completed, and the draft was paid. | 

Again, sir, when the Church of the South Society, a new structure, 
that occupied the site of the one that he describes as the ‘* Presbyterian 
Meeting-House, where the Rev. Mr. Walker formerly was pastor,” 
was destroyed by fire, the Society, with much exertion, having just 
about completed the same, my friend on my right* joined me in a note 
to Mr. Peabody, stating the facts,—to which he replied, with an appro- 
priate expression of his sympathies with the occasion, accompanied by 
a bill of exchange for fifty pounds sterling, for the use of the Society. 

Such, sir, has been my knowledge and experience of George Pea- 
body, of London. You may well suppose, sir, when | received from 
him a private note, accompanying the envelope that contained the 
donation, with a request that it should not be opened until the company 
were seated at dinner, because it contained ‘a sentiment of interest to 
the people of Danvers,” that I imagined it to be a rich sentiment. I 
did indeed, sir, so imagine. But I frankly admit, it exceeds my high- 
est Imagination. 

And, sir, what was peculiarly gratifying to me, the same note, that 
gave me this information, also authorized me to subscribe in his behalf 
the sum of fifty dollars, towards the erection of an appropriate monu- 
ment at the grave of our late fellow-townsman, the venerable Gen. 
Gideon Foster, who died at the age of 96, with a character for indus- 
try, honor, and integrity, rarely equalled. 

Such, sir, are a few of the acts of this model of a man, that Danvers 
feels proud to call her own. May those, who are still of Danvers, 
show themselves to be worthy of his bounty. May it be received and 
managed in a manner most gratifying to the giver. May no local 
jealousies, or meaner passions, be suffered to enter here. May those 
of Danvers, in ’fifty-two, show themselves to be worthy their sires of 
*SEVENTY-SIX. . 


P. R. SOUTHWICK, Esgq., here rose and spoke as follows : 


Mr. President :—I rise, sir, to pass a slight tribute of respect to that . 
distinguished gentleman whose interesting letter has just been read to 
us ; a gentleman with whom so many of us were familiar in our early 
years,—whose enterprise and liberality, whose private virtue and moral 
worth, excite the deepest regard and admiration, not only in his own 
country but in Europe. | 

I hope, sir, that you or some other gentleman more familiar with 
the history of George Peabody, Esq., will favor us with the details of 
his progress from his boyhood to the high position which he now en- 
joys, the highest position in the mercantile world which any living Amer- 
ican has ever yet reached. I will detain you only by alluding to those 
traits in that gentleman’s character which afforded me and my friends 
so much pleasure before he left us, and during his residence in Balti- 
more, and which he carried with him and still retains on the other side 
of the Atlantic. I will only say of Mr. Peabody’s early advantages in 


* Hon. Robert S. Daniels. 


145 


life, that he owes nothing to the influence of birth or fortune. Though ¢ 
of highly respectable parentage, he claims no alliance to the aristocracy 
of wealth or power adventitiously bestowed. From his youth, his 
mind was imbued with sound principles. Early convinced of the value 
of time, he rightly estimated the importance of improving the opportu- 
nities and advantages of education with which he was favored, and we 
find him early distinguished by those habits of industry and by that 
purity of moral conduct, which have ever since been preéminent in his 
character. He has been promoted entirely by his own exertions and 
merits. At home and abroad, in his youth and in his manhood, indus- 
try, decision and perseverance characterize every stage of his life. 

I have already said Mr. Peabody enjoys the highest reputation as a 
merchant. He exhibits the most perfect example of assiduity, sagacity 
and foresight in his business transactions. Perfectly familiar with the 
currency of every part of the world, thoroughly acquainted with the 
resources, the financial condition, and the banking systems of different 
nations, enjoying the entire confidence of corporations and individuals, 
his mercantile transactions are confined by no sectional limits, and he 
extends his operations with perfect freedom and safety in every direc- 
tion. His judgment is clear, deliberate, and peculiarly discriminating. 
He regards ‘ punctuality as the soul of business,” and never violates 
the most trivial engagements. His intercourse in his business connec- 
tion with others is always attended with frankness and candor, and 
we rarely if ever meet with a merchant of eminence so entirely undis- 
turbed by the jealousy or envy of others. He never exhibits in his 
business transactions any of those little tricks and concealments which 
indicate a weak or a dishonorable mind. He holds in abhorrence that 
meanness of spirit, which, for a little apparent profit, would insinuate 
evil of another, or even consent, by silence, to a mistaken estimate of 
his worth. He has none of that jealousy which fears a rival in every 
person pursuing the same end, nor of that arrogant self-esteem which | 
owns no fallibility of judgment. In all his intercourse with his mer- 
cantile brethren he is gentlemanly and respectful, and secures their 
esteem not less by his acknowledged abilities than by his modesty and 
courtesy. The free expression of opinion uprightly formed, he believes 
to be the right and duty of an honest man, and to the exercise of which, 
by others, he is unusually tolerant. His opinion is of the highest au- 
thority, but it is given with so much modesty that he never gives 
offence even where there might be a difference in judgment. There is 
nothing haughty or arrogant in his character, and the feelings of respect 
which his acquaintance excites arise from his dignified deportment 
combined with native simplicity of manners. 

Mr. Peabody’s moral sensibilities are exalted and refined; but if any 
one quality of his heart prevails that acts as a presiding divinity over 
the man, it is his benevolence. ‘The citizens of his native town, as 
well as in every community in which he has lived, will never forget or 
cease to feel the influence of his generous acts) The various acts of 
his munificence, both public and private, I will not detail to you here. 
They are already a by-word upon your lips. Although the hand of 
time may obliterate the pages upon which the gifts of our valued friend 


146 


are recorded, we trust that his memory and the objects of his generous 
care will be cherished till time shall be no more. 

The proverbial benevolence of Mr. Peabody prompts him to seek 

out rather than to shun adversity, and when it is discovered he never 
“«“ passes by on the other side.”’ His heart is alive to all the tender and 
generous sensibilities of our nature, throwing the drapery of kindness 
over the chamber of affliction, and lighting up, by the sunshine of his 
benevolence, the sky overcast by distress and adversity. In public 
improvements, in the various efforts for moral elevation and intellectual 
advancement, or for advancing the interest and comforts of all around 
him, the heart and hand of George Peabody are readily enlisted. He 
‘is the ardent and active friend of social order, and of the substantial 
institutions of society. To the presence of his benevolent affections 
he is indebted for that graceful and easy politeness, that unassuming 
suavity of temper, which are so conspicuous in his intercourse with 
others, and which so justly and eminently entitle him to our gratitude, 
‘and secure for him unrivalled esteem, affection and respect. On the 
character of such a man as George Peabody we can dwell only with 
‘delight and satisfaction. It has no shades; no dark spot, which his 
‘friends would desire to conceal or remove ;_no eccentricity to detract 
from its merit. His well-balanced mind leads him to right views upon 
-every subject. His acute moral sense has always kept him in the path 
of rectitude. He possesses honesty that cannot be corrupted, and*in- 
tegrity that cannot be shaken by adversity. His inflexible moral prin- 
‘ciples are written upon his countenance, upon every word that falls 
from his lips, and upon every action of his’ life. 

Such, Mr, President, is George Peabody. The town of Danvers 
ought justly to be proud of that favorite son whose life and character, 
whose urbanity of manners, and whose mercantile experience, are 
producing a beneficial influence upon the mercantile character of 
Great Britain that is entirely beyond a parallel. May his example 
stimulate all our young men who are pressing forward in the path of 
high and honorable distinction. 


The following sentiment was then given : 


Our Fellow Townsman, Sylvester Proctor, Esq.—Venerable for his years and ? 
honored for his virtues. It is a proud distinction for him to sit in the seat at 
our festival designed for George Peabody, of London. 


It should be remarked that Mr. Peabody requested that the seat he 
would have himself occupied at the table, if he had been present, 
‘should be assigned to his venerable friend, Capt. Proctor. It was in his 
apothecary shop that Mr. Peabody learned the first rudiments of trade, 
and where he passed several years of his boyhood before entering upon 
the larger sphere of operations, which has given him such a name in 
the mercantile world. Capt. Proctor was accordingly so seated. 


The next sentiment was— 


_ The Historical Department of the. Essex Institute—The rich and safe depos- 
itory of incidents in our local history,—a richer depository is found in the 
experience and reminiscences of its presiding head. 


147 


JUDGE WHITE, President of the Institute, being called upon, 


responded substantially as follows :— 


Mr. President :—At this late hour it will not be expected that I 
should attempt making a speech, I can do little more than to express 
my congratulations and my thanks, which I would most heartily do. 

Yes, friends and fellow-citizens of Danvers, with my whole heart, 
full and overflowing, I congratulate you upon the complete success of 
your great celebration,—a celebration which will form an important 
era in your annals, and to which the Essex Institute will be indebted 
for some of its richest incidents of local history. Your honorable 
efforts to commemorate the virtues and achievements of the founders 
and fathers of Danvers, have been crowned with all the success you 
could have desired. Your extended procession this morning was con- 
ducted in admirable order, and presented a brilliant and beautiful 
pageantry to the eye, and, what is more, a most touching spectacle to 
the heart of every beholder. Its moral associations imparted a dignity 
to it. The costumes of the fathers brought up at once their self-deny- 
ing virtues, their holy lives, and brave deeds; and the long array of 
little children,—those countless ‘** buds of promise,’’—carried us into 
the uncertain future, with mingled hopes and fears, impressing upon 
us the importance of training them to be worthy of their ancestry. 
Your interesting and appropriate services in the church left us nothing 
to regret but the want of time to listen to the muse of the day. And 
here, at these widespread festive boards, eloquence, poetry and song, 
wit, humor and joyful feeling have conspired to honor both you and 
your fathers, and to delight us all. 

But especially, and most of all, would I congratulate you, my friends, 
upon the richest incident of the day,—the noble benefaction which has 
just been announced,—truly a noble close to a noble celebration. For- 
ever honored be the name of GEorGE PEaBopy, your distinguished 
fellow-townsman of London, for his bountiful gift, and its wise appro- 
priation. Well does he deserve the bursts of grateful enthusiasm 
which you have so spontaneously given him, and which your children 
will catch from you. This gift, so appropriated, is in the very spirit 
of your celebration,—in the very spirit of the fathers whose memory 
you venerate. _ The expressed sentiment, accompanying the gift, con- 
secrates it the more entirely, and will the more endear the name of the 
high-minded donor. That ‘ education is a debt due from the present 
to future generations,’ was a fundamental principle with our sagacious 
forefathers, manifested in all their conduct. To the steady operation 
of this principle are we chiefly indebted for our choicest blessings. 
If we value these blessings, let us never forget the means of perpetuat- 
ing them. George Peabody is doubly your benefactor, by reminding 
you of your high obligations, and, at the same time, enlarging your 
ability to fulfil them. 

I fully assent to all that has been so eloquently said here in praise of 
your privileges, your virtues, and your blessings. No people on this 
earth, I believe, are more truly blest than the people of Danvers, and, 
I may add, of all the towns within the original limits of Salem. How 
shall we account for this great and happy distinction in their lot? Very 


148 


readily. No people ever had better or wiser ancestors. The founders 
of Salem, who were the founders of Danvers, were selected from the 
best men of their day and generation. ‘They were real men of God, 
and the seed they planted here was the true seed of God. It took deep 
root, and has borne fruit continually, and will bear it so long as we 
appreciate its value, and strive to preserve it in the spirit of the original 
planters. You do well to honor their memory, and to cherish their 
spirit. This you owe to them, to yourselves, to your children, and 
to your children’s children, All praise is due to you for the generous 
zeal and public spirit which you have manifested in this splendid, this 
heartfelt celebration. I thank you most cordially for the privilege of 
enjoying it with you. And I congratulate you upon the proud satisfac- 
tion with which you will look back upon this day, and forward to the 
approbation of posterity. 

I have no time to dwell upon the virtues of our venerated forefathers, 
or even to name them. Nor is this necessary. They are known to 
you all. John Endicott, their intrepid leader,—the noble pioneer gov- 
ernor, whose fame will brighten with the flight of time,—is identified 
with the people of Danvers. He was admirably qualified, by his moral, 
intellectual, and physical energies, for the grand enterprise to which 
he was destined by Providence. And he, with his faithful compeers, 
will be remembered with increasing enthusiasm of gratitude for centu- 
ries to come. 

I beg leave again to thank you, Mr. Preside and the Committee 
of Arrangements, for the high gratification I have enjoyed to-day, and 
to conclude with the following sentiment, which is my fervent prayer : 


The onward prosperity of Danvers—May the next centennial celebration be 
enjoyed by a people as richly blest as the present, and as justly proud of their 
ancestors. 


A sentiment, complimentary to the PresipeNT oF THE Day, having 


been offered, Hon. ROBERT 8. DANIELS responded :— 


Mr. President :—I have listened with deep interest to the remarks 
of gentlemen who have addressed this assembly. They have done 
full and ample justice to all those distinguished citizens of Danvers 
who took part in the stirring events of the Revolution, and in the early 
part of the century, the completion of which we are now celebrating. 
Those events, and the character of our townsmen who participated in 
them, are a source of pride and pleasure to us all. But there are men 
of more recent date,—men of the present generation, who have been 
of us, and with us, and some of them now living, whose influence and 
standing have been of the most elevated and favorable character ; many 
of them I have had the pleasure to know, and have often been called 
to act with, in many transactions relative to our municipal and other 
matters. And, sir, may I be permitted to allude to some two or three 
of them? 

And first I will say of the President of the Day what I would not 
say had he not retired from his place and from this assembly, that 
he has discharged the duties assigned him on this occasion.in a man- 
ner so able and interesting and so characteristic of himself, as to ex- 


~ 


149 


cite the admiration and entire approbation of all our friends from 
abroad, and to elevate himself still higher, if possible, in the esteem of 
his fellow-townsmen. His dignity, impartiality, and ready wit have 
added much to the pleasures of the day. The deep interest which he 
has manifested in this celebration has endeared him to all his associates 
in the preparatory arrangements. And we all hope that he may live 
long among us, and continue his wise counsels and bright example in 
the promotion of religion and virtue, and all those traits of character 
which are calculated to adorn the possessor, and increase the happiness 
of the human race. 

And there is one who was recently with us, but is now gone to par- 
ticipate, as [ trust, in higher and purer scenes,—whom we all knew 
and esteemed,—who was cut down in the midst of his usefulness, and 
at a time when many of his fellow-citizens were looking forward to 
his promotion to the highest honors of the State. You must be aware 
that I allude to the Hon. Daniel P. King. Of a character so pure that 
the breath of calumny, if ever hurled at him, must have fallen harm- 
less at his feet; of a life so uncontaminated with the evils and tempta- 
tions with which he had been surrounded during his public life that he 
secured the esteem and confidence of all his associates, he was a wor- 
thy example for the. young and ambitious to follow. He served his 
country and his fellow-citizens faithfully and honorably, and he died 
regretted and beloved by all who knew him. 

And there is one more of our native citizens to whom, under the 
circumstances of the occasion, I feel at liberty to allude, and of whom 
my friend* near me has spoken so justly and truly, and that is George 
Peabody, Esq., of London; and it wagmy fortune to have known him, 
and have associated with him in some measure, before he left his na- 
tive town—not so much, however, as my brother David, who, I 
believe, was one of his most intimate friends. I recollect George 
Peabody as an active, intelligent young man, of dignified deport- 
ment, tall and commanding in person,—and I ask what has made 
him what he is? a resident of London, of immense wealth, highly 
respected and esteemed, throughout the world, for his high sense of 
honor, his unbending integrity, his public spirit, his humanity, his gen- 
erosity, and his elevated standing among the merchant princes of the 
old and new world. There is no one here to-day (and there are but 
few who have known how he has passed along from our common 
district schools to his present elevated position) but that would say his 
character, all the way through life, must have been distinguished for 
industry, for integrity, for virtue, for honor, and all those characteristics 
which command the respect and esteem of all persons, of all ages. 
These are all necessary to a successful business career. ‘Think of 
these things, young men! You probably cannot all be George Pea- 
bodys, but you may attain to a desirable and respectable standing in 
the community,—and some of you, if you will but adhere to the rules 
of life, which must have governed him, may obtain wealth and an 
honorable distinction among your fellow-citizens, and a peaceful and 
happy old age, filled with a glorious hope of a blessed immortality. 
What town can point to nobler and higher examples, as incentives to 


* Mr. Proctor. 


150 


stimulate our young men to a virtuous and correct deportment, than 
Danvers, when she points to Daniel P. King and George Peabody. 
May the next centennial celebration find many of your names enrolled 
as high in the estimation of those who may meet on that occasion as 
are those of Peabody and King at this time. I beseech you keep them 
constantly in mind. It is an high aim,—but not beyond your reach. 


The PresIDENT then offered the following sentiment : 


The Secretary of the Commonwealih—Known at home as the earnest friend 
of improvement and progress, and in other countries as the ardent advocate of 
peace and good will among the nations. 


To this sentiment Hon. AMASA WALKER responded as follows : 


Mr. President :—In making my acknowledgments for the flattering 
sentiments you have just announced, allow me to say that I accepted, 
your invitation to be present at this festival with great pleasure. | 
well knew that the town of Danvers was rich in the incidents of her 
history, and in the romance of her traditions, and that she had sons of 
talent and genius by whom the deeds and legends of the past would 
be ably rehearsed in prose and verse. I therefore expected much, and 
have enjoyed much; but I did not expect to hear announced at this 
time such a generous donation as that which you have just received 
from your distinguished townsman in London. Sir, I congratulate 
you, | congratulate the people of this favored town on such a valuable 
gift. That it will confer great advantages on you, I doubt not ; that it 
reflects great honor on the donor, am sure. It is not the munificence 
of the gift, great as that is, but the excellence of the object to which it 
is to be devoted, that makes it such a benefaction to your town, and 
such an honor to him who gives it. Sir, this generous act speaks a 
volume of the character and feelings of its author. It shows that, 
elevated and distinguished as he is abroad, he has not forgotten his 
early home ; that, surrounded as he is by the elegance and opulence 
of the world’s metropolis, he remembers, with gratitude and affection, 
the friends and associates of his childhood and youth. And more, it 
shows that he justly appreciates the state of society in his native land, 
and the wants of the age. It indicates that he has kept up with the 
progress of events, and knows that popular education, the enlightenment 
of the masses, the diffusion of intelligence amongst the people by 
lectures, lyceums, and libraries, is one of the greatest demands of 
the present time. In this, too, he shows that he sympathizes with the 
people, and that if he is a British subject, he is still worthy to be an 
American citizen, for he has an American heart, and republican ideas, 

Lyceums, voluntary associations for the extension of useful knowl- 
edge, are no longer an experiment; they have become established 
institutions in our country; they are exerting a vast influence on, the 
public mind, and doing much for the moral and intellectual cultivation 
of the people. Your friend, Mr. President, judged rightly when he 
determined that his liberal donation should be appropriated to these 
excellent objects. In no way could he have conferred greater benefits 


151 


on you. In no way could he have impressed himself more deeply or 
favorably on the youthful mind of the present and coming generations. 

Though not an inhabitant of this much honored town, and though 
neither [, nor mine, may ever receive any direct heneft from this 
generous act of your friend, yet, as an early and earnest, though fee- 
ble advocate of these now useful and popular institutions, 1 feel myself 
laid under personal obligations, and am emboldened to call on you, 
sir, and all who may hereafter be entrusted with, the management of 
this fund, to use the utmost vigilance and fidelity in the discharge of 
your sacred trust. Let the income be ever judiciously and econom- 
ically devoted to its appropriate objects. Let nothing be wasted in 
show, nothing be spent on favorites, nothing lost by neglect. Remem- 
ber that this fund is not the property of any sect or party, of any 
clique or coterie. It has been given to the town of Danvers ; it is the 
property of the people, for their use and behoof, forever. So let it be 
understood and felt. Well appropriated and managed, this fund may 
be made to produce great and beneficent results, ‘and afford superior 
advantages to the young people of this town. I hope, sir, they will 
feel inspired with an ardent desire to avail themselves to the utmost, of 
the means of improvement thus afforded them. 

Mr. President, while, on an occasion like this, our minds are mostly 
filled with the memories of the past, and the interesting events of the 
present, it is quite impossible that we should fail to “cast a glimpse 
down the long vista of the future. If the last one hundred years has 
done so much for human progress and development, how much may 
we not anticipate for a hundred years to come? At the same rate of 
progress for the next century, what will be the achievements, what the 
position of the race in the sciences and arts, in morals and religion, in 
all that elevates and adorns the social state, on the return of your next 
centennial? ‘The mind is overwhelmed as it contemplates the future. 
Progress is the destiny of man. Higher views of duty, nobler aspira- 
tions, truer conceptions of the great principles of Christianity, and a 
more universal practical application of its leading truths, these must 
mark the century before us ; these must harmonize the antagonisms of 
the social state, and hasten the advent of that day when the spirit of 
peace, and the sentiment of human brotherhood, ‘shall cover the 
earth as the waters do the sea.” 


The Presipent then proposed the following sentiment : 


The Town of Beverly—Our elder sister, and one of Mother Salem’s most 
comely daughters. Her distinguished sons are her brightest jewels. 


To this toast, Mr. THAYER responded as follows :— 


In justice, Mr. President, to my own feelings, as well as in behalf of 
my fellow-townsmen, I desire to make some response to the sentiment 
you have proposed, so complimentary to the place of my residence. 
For them and for myself, I assure you, the sentiments of kindness and 
respect it implies are cordially reciprocated. And I am most happy 
to congratulate you and the people of Danvers on the signal success of 
this celebration. When I heard it was undertaken, I did not doubt 


152 


that here were the ability and public spirit to make it a very interesting 
and creditable one, But I confess I was not prepared to anticipate 
all I have this day witnessed. While the external display has been 
highly peculiar and brilliant, and this wide-spread and bountiful feast 
has been provided for us, a far richer provision has been prepared for 
the mind and heart. History and poetry, sentiment and song, sober 
reflection and facetious allusion, have together and largely contributed 
to our entertainment and instruction. The various historical reminis- 
cences, the important views, and facts, and events, which have been 
made to cluster around this town, must have taken the most of us by 
surprise. ‘They certainly have evinced extensive research and exceed- 
ing ingenuity in those who have been at the pains to gather and ar- _ 
range them. I hope that with the aid of the press, they may be care- 
fully treasured and preserved to inform and delight the present and 
future generations. They would afford materials for a volume of great 
value and interest, not merely for the antiquarian, or for those imme- - 
diately concerned as residents here or in the vicinity, but for all who 
would learn our origin and progress as a community, and would 
Closely observe the chief elements by which a little one has become ~ 
thousands and millions, and a small one a vast, mighty, and wonder- 
fully growing nation. 

In the sentiment, which alone has induced me at this late hour to 
offer a few brief remarks, are recognized justly the family relations 
existing between our neighboring towns, and which constitute them in 
in the most essential respects one people. They are bound together 
by the strong ties of a common origin, a common history, and a com- 
mon destiny. ‘The associations connected with their settlement, with 
the toils, privations and sacrifices of their ancestors, with the patriotic 
endurance and exertions of their fathers, with the grand interests of 
education, reform, progress, religion, are to a large extent the same 
with them, all. They have the same characteristics of intelligence, 
industry, enterprise, order, sobriety, love of country, moral and Christ- 
ian worth. The three populations of Salem, Beverly and Danvers— 
the mother, with the elder and younger daughters, though under differ- 
ent municipalities, are, by location, by facilities of intercourse, by social 
and business relations, and by the manner in which they run into and 
blend with each other, substantially one. If united as formerly, they 
would now form a city of over thirty thousand inhabitants, which would 
combine within itself as great an amount of beauty and desirableness 
in position, and of what makes human life most valuable, as any other 
equally populous city of the land. Something has at this time been 
said about vanishing lines between this and Salem. And let Danvers 
be forewarned, that when such donations, as that which has just been 
announced from her munificent son in London, come pouring upon 
her, she must expect to encounter schemes of annexation from other 
quarters beside that of her venerable and loving parent. 

Seriously, sir, if we borderers may not claim an equal share with 
you in that noble endowment, we shall make no ceremony in stepping 
over your limits, and appropriating to ourselves some of the best por- 
tions of it—at least, that which consists of the feelings of pride, admi- 
ration and satisfaction with which it cannot fail to be viewed. The 


153 


spectacle thus presented is truly an inspiring one. It has a moral 
beauty and glory. Would that it might have its legitimate effect in 
prompting others, near to or distant from the places of their birth, to 
like generous uses of wealth and like spfendid benefactions. Its author 
having, by diligence, talent, high character, and no doubt favoring for- 
tune, risen to opulence and commanding station, has had the wisdom 
to turn these to ends alike creditable and useful. In a dark hour of 
misfortune and disgrace he brought them to retrieve and support his 
country’s commercial honor.. By a stroke of social policy not less 
felicitous than bold, he converted a celebration of our national birth- 
day on British ground into an enduring cement of peaceful union be- 
tween’ our mother-land and her rebel offspring. ‘To his countrymen 
abroad he has extended a heartfelt welcome and a cherishing hand, 
and among foreigners made them at home. He has not unwisely, as 
so many do, waited to have his superfluous abundance dispensed from 
a lifeless hand—to cast his bread on the waters when it could return to 
him no more. He would not die without a sight of the tree or without 
gathering from the fruit of the tree, which he had himself planted. 
Not content, too, with cultivating the field immediately before him, and 
doing the good which lies directly about him, his large and true heart, 
quitting the cares and whirl of business in the world’s great centre, 
leaving the scenes of his triumphs—of the affluence and splendor 
which surround him there, where he dwells a prince among princes, a 
merchant-prince indeed, a prince of right-royal blood—that which 
flows in the veins of nature’s noblemen,—with the beautiful love for the 
place of his nativity that is akin to the affection for one’s own mother, 
traverses the ocean and comes hither, seeking out the house in which 
he was born; the humble school-room in which he was early trained ; 
the spot where stood the ancient church in which he was taught to 
worship God, and from which it is provided with touching simplicity, 
in the conditions on which the institution he has so liberally devised is. 
bestowed, that it shall not be far removed. ‘That enlarged and liberal 
heart is with us to-day—in spirit, though not im person, mingling with 
a ready and thorough sympathy in these joyous festivities, and crown- 
ing them with a wreath of princely benevolence ;—thus rendering them 
thrice joyful, and by this golden offering laid on the festive board, 
and consecrated to good learning with the virtues and graces by which 
it is rightfully attended and adorned, gladdening the hearts and im- 
measurably blessing the minds of multitudes of the present, and 
countless future generations. Such an example, while it sheds lustre 
on our nature and universal man, belongs to the world. All of us in 
this community, whence it originated, have a peculiar property in it, 
which, were it necessary, we should strenuously assert,—of which you 
could not if you would, though I am sure you would not if you could, 
have any, even the humblest of us, deprived. 

But there is one species of annexation I will engage that we in Bey- 
erly will not press. It is that of the fame—be it credit or discredit— 
which properly belongs here, in connection with the witchcraft of 
1692. We are quite content to let that matter stand as it does,— 
namely, that while your ancestors set it going, ours oppo8ed the first 
effectual check to it. There are some other facts on which with all 

20 


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154 


requisite modesty we would pride ourselves, as, that our harbor sent 
forth the first armed vessel of the revolution, thus cradling the Ameri- 
can nayy—that with us was established the first cotton factory in this 
country—that among us, also, was founded the first Sunday School, as 
that institution now exists, in the United States,—but on no other event 
in our annals may we dwell with more satisfaction than upon this. 
The orator of the day has alluded to the circumstances, which were 
simply these. When the awful tragedy was at its height, Mrs. Hale, 
wife of the first minister of Beverly, was cried out against as being in 
league with Satan. Such, however, was her remarkable excellence, 
that all who knew her felt at once that the accusation was false, the 
devil being the last person with whom she would be likely to cultivate 
any friendship or affinity. ‘The eyes of her husband, who had previous- 
ly yielded to the delusion, were opened to its real nature ; and he forth- 
with composed a treatise, which was published in a small volume, and 
contributed much to stay the evil. I have in my possession a copy of 
it, and I know of but one other copy in existence. It is marked with 
the peculiarities in style and thought of the times in which it was writ- | 
ten, but shows thorough investigation coupled with deep conviction and 
ardent love of truth. ‘It will. ever be honorable to his memory, and 
will reflect lasting honor on the scene of his labors and the spot whence 
it emanated. And Danvers, notwithstanding she might, in a former 
age and in common with the rest of the world, have labored under the 
disastrous eclipse of superstitious terror, was not slow to come out from 
its dismal shadow, and to avail herself of the improved lights of learn- 
ing and religion. For her zeal in cherishing her churches and schools, 
and other means of disseminating knowledge, and high and pure prin- 
ciples, she has long been distinguished. ‘This day, certainly, she stands 
forth in the clear, genial sunshine of enlightened reason and right feel- 
ing, in regard to the delusion to which particular attention has naturally 
been drawn, and to all kindred ones. It appears to me, that on this 
point precisely the right key has, both in prose and poetry, been struck. 
Who shall deny that it needs to be struck with all the force of strong 
reason and high character, when we behold the many otherwise happy 
homes, which in consequence of prevailing superstitions and fanaticisms: 
are in deepest misery, and the many otherwise useful members of so- 
ciety and advancing Christians, who are by them doomed to the ma- 
niac’s cell? Task leave, then, in closing, to offer this sentiment: 


Intelligence and Virtue—The great weapons with which to combat every 
kind of delusion. | 


The PresiDENT next proposed the honored name of Natruan Dane, 
which was responded to by the Rev. E. M. STONE, of Providence :— 


I thank you, Mr. President, for the very kind manner in which you 
have been pleased to connect my name with Beverly,—a town in which 
I spent many pleasant years, and from whose citizens, as I gratefully 
remember, I have received many tokens of confidence and favor. 

_ A thought naturally suggested by the interesting scenes of this day, 
is the influ€nce of towns on the character and destiny of a nation. 
Towns act through individuals. They have their representative men 


155 


through whom they speak, and by whom they illustrate the principles 
they hold dear. Of this class was Hon. Nathan Dane,—a name around 
which clusters all we venerate in man as a Christian, a Jurist, and a © 
Statesman. On the 27th of December next, one hundred years will 
have elapsed since he first drew breath in Ipswich, and full seventy 
years have gone by since he established himself in the profession of 
law in Beverly. His long and honorable career is well known to the 
citizens of this town. It is marked by many acts of public usefulness 
and private munificence. Of his public acts, the most important are 
those to which your sentiment refers. By the first, the Federal consti- 
tution was rendered “adequate to the exigencies of government and 
preservation of the union.”” By the second, freedom from involuntary 
servitude was secured to four hundred thousand square miles of terri- 
tory, and the interminable West saved from a blighting evil that has so 
sadly marred the prosperity of other sections of our great and glorious 
confederacy. The ordinance of 1787 evinced a far seeing wisdom. 
It marked an epoch in our history, from which freedom dates mo- 
mentous results. It struck a chord of humanity and civil rights, that 
will not cease to vibrate until the last link of oppression’s.chain is 
broken. It has drawn from the most gifted« minds in our land the 
strongest expressions of admiration. ‘I doubt,” said Mr. Webster, 
on one of the most intensely interesting occasions of his public life, 
‘‘whether one single law of any law-giver, ancient or modern, has 
produced effects of a more distinct and marked and lasting character 
than the ordinance of ’87,—and certainly it has happened to few men, 
to be the authors of a political measure of more Jarge and enduring 
consequence. It fixed, forever, the character of the population in the 
vast regions northwest of the Ohio, by excluding from them involuntary 
servitude. It impressed on the soil itself, while it was yet a wilderness, 
an incapacity to bear up any other than freemen. It laid the interdict 
against personal servitude, in original compact, not only deeper than 
all local law, but deeper, also, than all local constitutions. Under the 
circumstances then existing, I look upon this original and seasonable 
provision as a real good attained. We see its consequences at this 
moment, and we shall never cease to see them, perhaps, while the 
Ohio shall flow.” 

In the labors thus eulogized, Mr. Dane represented the sentiment, or 
rather, I may say, the principles of the town of Beverly,—principles 
by which her citizens were actuated during the revolutionary struggle, 
and which are recorded on almost every page of her revolutionary 
transactions. 

It was the good fortune of Mr. Dane, while the ordinance of 1787 
was under consideration, to be seconded in his efforts by men imbued 
with the same spirit; and there comes to my mind, in this connection, 
the name of one whose important services to the political, social, intel- 
lectual, and religious interests of the great West, are yet to be made 
known. I refer to the late Rev. Manasseh Cutler, LL.D., of Ham- 
ilton, the earnest and judicious coadjutor of Mr. Dane, (though not 
then a member of Congress,) in securing the passage of the ordinance, 
and to whom, in his own person, and through his honored son, Judge 
Ephraim Cutler, Ohio is more indebted than to any other man, for 


156 


those distinguishing traits which give her a proud preéminence among 
her western sisters. Sir, the influence of Beverly and Hamilton, 
through these their representative men, upon the public opinion and 
present position of our nation, can scarcely be over-estimated, and the 
debt of gratitude due to them will be as enduring as the institutions of 
our country. Of Mr. Dane, it is sufficient to add that his highest 
eulogy is found in the works with which his name is identified, and it 
is glory enough for Beverly that for more than half a century she could 
number him among her most distinguished citizens. ‘The period em- . 
braced in the anniversary of this day, Mr. President, covers the most 
important acts in the history of our country,—its resistance of oppres- 
sion, its struggle for civil freedom, and its triumphant achievement of 
a name among the nations of the earth. In the stirring events that led 
on to these results, Danvers took a decided and active part. In the 
field and in the public councils she had representative men worthy the 
trust reposed in them, and worthy a place on the roll inscribed with 
the name of Nathan Dane. Her Fosters and Pages, her Hutchinsons, 
Putnams and Proctors, and their associates, were men of mark,—men 
upon whom the lesson at North Bridge had not been lost, and who, at 
Lexington, Bunker Hilt, Monmouth, and other points distinguished for 
heroic deeds, did good service for their country, and won for themselves 
an imperishable fame. 

Another of her representative men was Judge Samuel Holten, a 
compeer of Mr. Dane, and a patriot of the Washington school. In the 
dark hours of his country’s peril, in the provincial, and subsequently 
in the national councils, he proved himself equal to the weighty respon- 
sibilities imposed upon him, and by his position and influence contributed 
much to the glorious consummation in which twenty-three millions of 
freemen this day rejoice. ‘To show the spirit of the man, and the 
ready sacrifice he made of pecuniary interest and health for the sacred 
cause of freedom, I will present a few extracts from letters written 
while in Congress to a member of the General Court of Massachusetts. 

Under date, Philadelphia, March 30, 1779, he says, after speaking 
of the alarming state of the public finances, ‘‘ you are pleased to ask 
me when I think of coming home. In answer, permit me to-observe, - 
that when I had the honor of being elected to a seat in Congress, I was 
sensible my friends had overrated my abilities, yet | was determined to 
give place to no man in my endeavors to serve my distressed country, 
and having given my constant attendance in Congress, not having been 
absent one day since I took my seat, (excepting three days I was confined 
by sickness,) I now find myself so much engaged, and the distresses 
of my country so great, that I have no thought of returning till some 
of my colleagues arrive to take my place, for if the State is not as 
‘fully represented as they expect, it shall not be my fault, though at 
may be very destructive to my health.” 

Again, June 8, he writes upon the same subject : “It is vain for us to 
expect that we can carry on the war by emitting bills. We must now 
all part with a part of our bills or other estate to procure them for 
public use. You may be assured, my worthy colleagues as well as 
myself, have been and still are exerting ourselves in this great affair 
of finance. I am sure you will agree with me in sentiment, that we 


157 


had much better pay a tenth of our estates, than lose all that is worth 
living in this world to enjoy.” 

Again, under date of November 8, on the same theme, he writes, 
‘‘ Our all seems to be at stake, and I fear the good people are not sen- 
sible of it.******Your greatest concern appears to be about a new 
army. My greatest concern is how we shall support the army, &c., &c. 
But don’t suppose I despair of the common cause. No, it is too good 
and just to despair of. It is the dangers I foresee that makes me press 
this important matter. I put great, dependence, under God, upon the 
knowledge and virtue of the New England States, and I think I shall 
not be disappointed.” 

Once more, writing under date of April 21, 1780, he says, ‘‘ My 
engagements are such that I can write you but a few lines upon our 
public affairs, which are truly distressing. The depreciation of our 
currency has not only dgranged and embarrassed the public affairs, but 
almost put a total stop to all the movements of our armies. Is the 
Honorable Assembly really sensible of our situation and their own 
danger? I fear not. Men, money, and provisions are what are so 
much needed, but the two last give me the greatest concern, for without 
them it will be impossible’ for the army to keep together. I can truly 
say I have met nothing like it since the war. But don’t, my worthy 
friend, think I despair of the common cause; no, not if the army 
disbands, which some think will be the case. My fears are that we 
shall be reduced to still greater difficulties before the good people will 
be fully sensible of their danger, and exert themselves accordingly.” 

One other extract must suffice. Under date of Philadelphia, May 2, 
1780, he writes, * As it is not my intention ever to return to Congress, 
I shall have only to take leave of you, and my other worthy friends at 
Court, and retire to private life.. My constant attendance in Congress, 
for almost two years, must render it a great relief to my mind to retire, 
and my friends here inform me they think that unless I lay aside 
business that requires so close attention, | shall end my days in this 
city ; but the distressed state of our country has a sensible effect upon a 
mind like mine, and whatever state I am in, I shall continue to exert 
myself in the common cause as long as my health will admit, or till our 
country is restored to peace.” 

Such, sir, was the “upright Judge,” whom his fellow-citizens so 
often delighted to honor, whose wise counsels, while a member of Con- 
gress, gave frequent direction to the action of your state legislature, 
and of whom it has been truly said, ‘‘ his name will be handed down 
to posterity with the celebrated names of his cotemporary patriots, 
crowned with immortal honors.” . 

Danvers, Mr. President, has never been deficient in representative 
men, through whom a potential influence in forming the character and 
shaping the destiny of the nation could be exerted. Among these, high 
on the record of the departed, is inscribed the name of one to whom 
affecting tributes have just been paid by his Excellency and the gen- 
tleman from Middlesex, (Hon. Mr. Palfrey,) and whom it was my — 
happiness to number among my personal friends. Sir, the Hon. 
Daniel P. King, the noble successor of the noble Saltonstall, was emi- 
nently deserving the confidence reposed in him. Faithfully did 


158 


4 

he watch over the interests of his constituents, and honorably did 
he represent their principles in the state and national legislatures. 
Everywhere he left the impress of ‘¢ an honest, independent freeman,” 
asking only in all his public acts, ‘is the measure right ?”? not, “ will it 
be popular?” His early and lamented death cast a deep shadow upon 
thousands of hearts, and while memory is true to its office, his public 
life and private virtues will be held in affectionate recollection. 

Honorable is it, sir, to this town, that humanity, temperance, educa- 
tion, and religion which crowns them all, have never failed to find here 
able champions, faithful expounders and generous benefactors. On 
all these prominent features of state and national character, Danvers, 
through her representative men, has left her mark. Her century of 
history is a,history of progress in virtue, intelligence and social refine- 
ment. Her patriotism is as true now, as when the drum beat to arms 
on the morning of the 19th April, 1775. Hgr past is the pledge of 
her future ; and while the spirit of her departed patriots is cherished, 
every good cause, every interest vital to the prosperity and perpetuity 
of our Union, will receive generous and efficient support. 

Of the events of this occasion, Mr. President, none will be longer 
remembered, or will shed richer blessings on the future generations of 
this town, than that avhich has this moment surprised and delighted us, 
and which has been so happily referred to by Judge White. The 
munificent donation you have announced from your former townsman, 
for the promotion of “knowledge and morality’? among you, is an 
eulogy upon * the unrivalled New England institution of the common 
school,’ and ,upon his discriminating judgment, ‘to which nothing 
need be added. It is indeed a ‘‘ noble benefaction”—the noble deed — 
of one, who, amidst the deserved commercial successes and honors of 
a foreign land, still remembers that he is an American, and who, 
turning with fond recollection to the scenes of childhood’s home, 
strengthens, with manly hand and generous heart, the ties that have 
ever bound him to “ fatherland.” To say that this act is alike honora- 
ble to him and to his native town, is only to repeat a self-evident truth, 
which this audience have already shown they appreciate. Sir, I would 
not have failed to witness the breaking of that seal, or to hear those - 
enthusiastic cheers, for all the other rich enjoyments of the day, and 
that is saying a great deal. It is a magnificent finale to these appro- 
priate festivities; and to the end of time, the name of George Pea- 
body will be enrolled with those ‘* merchant princes” of America 
who are showing to the world, that they understand the true uses of 
wealth. 

Pardon me, Mr. President, if, before I sit down, I utter a word or 
two ina somewhat different vein. My friend, the mayor of Salem, 
has very properly denominated this a family meeting, in which mat- 
ters. purely domestic may with propriety be talked over. It is true, I 
cannot claim, strictly, to be a member of the family ; but that is more 
my misfortune than my fault. Beverly and Danvers, however, are 
‘loving’? daughters of * old mother Salem,” and | think I might, by a 
liberal interpretation of the genealogical tables, prove myself a “ dis- 
tant relative.” At all events, I shall plead the privilege of an old 
neighbor and friend, and ‘‘ say my say.” 


159 


I am not ignorant, sir, of the fact, that grave charges have been 
preferred against the good name of this ancient town. I am tolerably 
familiar with the traditions of old ‘“*Salem village,” the ‘ Devil’s 
Dishfull,’’ and ** Blind Hole.’ I recollect that a certain ‘‘ Lawrence 
Conant” once played off his jokes on us sober and confiding antiqua- 
rians, and that a gentleman, whose name I need not mention, has 
amused himself, and disturbed the cachinnary nerves of this whale com- 
munity, by sinking railroads! Now, sir, lam not going to reproach 
you for these things. Not at all. The spirits of 1692, like those of 
1852, had their way of doing things, and men of the present, like men 
of the past, enjoy fun after their own fashion; and who shall say the 
former deserved the fate of “* goodwife Nurse,” until their ‘* manifesta- 
tions” are satisfactorily explained, or that the latter should be sternly 
frowned upon until the maxim, “laugh and grow fat,” is repudiated ? 
But on family vagaries one hundred and sixty years ago, | shall not 
dwell. ‘The more recent occurrences to which I have referred, 1 am 
disposed to look upon as the poetry of your local history,—embellish- 
ments springing, perhaps, from an ‘ excess of activity,” as a professor 
of theology once explained certain youthful propensities, and which a 
broad charity can readily excuse. 

Besides, sir, a volume of good things may be said of your town, 
that will not require smoking, like the sermons of which you have 
spoken, to ensure their preservation for the use of a future historian. 
Of the representatives of agriculture in this Commonwealth, who 
stands a Saul among them but your orator? Of ploughs, what maker 
has produced a better than the ‘* Eagle”? of your townsman? Of de- 
fenders of the much-abused swine against Hebrew and Mahommedan 
aspersions, who has been more eloquent and effective than one of 
your fellow-citizens ? What fields exhale a fragrance that may well 
excite the envy of Weathersfield, or draw tears from sensitive eyes, 
like your own? Who but a Danvers antiquarian, could have recov- 
ered the original manuscript of Giles Corey’s veritable ‘‘ Dream,” to 
which we have just listened with so much benefit to our digestion ? 
What other town could have presented so strong attractions to ‘ the 
greatest schoolmaster in New England,” or can hope ever to eclipse 
the brilliant pageant of this day? Here, your Fowlers are in amity 
with the feathered tribes, your Kings are all first rate republicans, 
your Pooles are sparkling and refreshing as when two hundred years 
ago John Endicott slaked his thirst from the bubbling fountains 
of this vicinity, and your Popes are more desirous of supplying 
“‘the trade” with prime shoes, manufactured from good Danvers 
leather, than ambitious to wear the triple crown, or to rule the public 
conscience. . 

Now, if there are any within the sound of my voice, who are still 
inclined to dwell in a querulous spirit on the past, I will remind them 
that this is not the spirit of the hour, and my advice is, that they con- 
sign both the spirit and its exciting cause to the Waters of oblivion. 
As for myself, with these facts and this day’s scenes before me, I am 
ready to join my friend from Salem in a proper resentment of any 
charge against you that an “ outsider,” knowing less of your history, 


160 


shall hereafter bring. And with this avowal, I close by submitting the 
following sentiment : . 


The Town of Danvers—The scion of a noble stock. In patriotic love of 
country, unsurpassed. Int works of humanity and social improvement, always 
right. In enterprise, honorable and indefatigable. 


At the conclusion of Mr. Stone’s speech, the PresIDENT proposed, 


- The Members of the Legal Profession in Danvers, both natives and residents— 
They are known as ornaments of the Bar, the Bench, and our highest Legis- 
lative Halls. 


To this, WM. D. NORTHEND, Esq., of Salem, responded as 


follows :— 


Mr. President :—I would that some individual were present more 
worthy than myself to respond to the sentiment which has just now 
been read. I can hardly respond to it without feeling that I may be 
chargeable with vanjty in attempting to speak of the virtues of those 
illustrious men whose example it has ever beén my highest ambition 
humbly and with unpretending steps to follow. It is sufficient for me 
to mention the names of Ho.tten, of Putnam, and of Warp, and to 
refer to the transcendent genius and eloquence of him who stands pre- 
eminently at the head of his profession, and who is so justly entitled 
to the cognomen of “ the Erskine of the American bar.” No words 
of eulogy, which I can utter, will add to the feelings of pride with 
which the memory of their noble names is cherished in the heart of 
every citizen of this time-honored, town. | 

And, sir, it is to me a matter of no ordinary felicitation, that I can 
trace my professional birth to this revered spot ; that here, among the 
generous and noble-spirited men of Danvers, | commenced my humble 
efforts on the stage of life. As my thoughts revert to that period, I 
cherish with deep-felt gratitude the recollection of many generous 
friends, whose influence and kindness assisted and encouraged me in 
the earlier struggles of my profession. Town of my adoption! citizens 
among whom I have delighted to dwell! The memory of you is en-— 
graven on my heart in lines never to be obliterated. 

Spot sacred and rich in’ proud reminiscences of the past—peopled 
with descendants from the noblest stock of the Revolution, from fathers 
baptized in the martyr blood of that heroic struggle—Danvers, ancient, 
noble, patriotic town, worthy to be commemorated! I reverence the 
majesty of thy past history. As my memory recalls the records of 
that history, I think I see before me, as on the morn preceding the 
‘Concord fight,”’ the young men of the village leave their homes, and, 
with their muskets upon their shoulders, gather together on yonder 
square. I think I see the venerable form of Parson Holt as he meets 
them there, and I hear his voice as he urges those youthful patriots, in 
the name of that religion of which he. was a worthy minister and a 
noble example, to fear not death itself im defence of their country. I 
seg them, after receiving his benedictions, as they march with hurried 
steps to meet the invading foe. As one after another of those heroic 


161 


young men, the flower and pride of Danvers, fall, pierced with many 
a grievous wound, methinks [ hear from their dying lips the patriotic 
words, ‘It is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country.”? And as 
the news of their fall reaches this village, and as their friends and the 
citizens, all common mourners, gather around their bier, I think I see 
depicted in their countenances, struggling with the tears and sorrow 
for the noble dead, a feeling of honorable pride that the blood of Dan- 
vers was the first sprinkled on the altar of American Independence. 

Through the whole of that long war I see recorded proof of the 
patriotism and bravery of the men of Danvers. With a population of 
scarcely nineteen hundred, the town gave to the service of the country 
five companies, comprising over two hundred men. No town of her 
size and ability did more. And, sir, in June, 1776, in anticipation of 
the Declaration of Independence, the town voted— 

‘That if the Honorable Congress, for the safety of the United Col- 
onies, declare them independent of Great Britain, we, the inhabitants 
of this town, do solemnly engage with our lives and fortunes to sup- 
port them in the measure.” 

Sir, the citizens of Danvers were not only among the first to rush to 
the field of battle and the last to leave it, but, at the close of the war, 
they were among the foremost in planting deep the tree of Peace, and 
subsequently in acknowledging the obligations of that great American 
Magna Charta, the fruit of the Revolution, which was destined to pro- 
tect the before separate and independent sovereignties on this continent. 

And, sir, since the Revolution, there has been no town in the Com- 
monwealth more distinguished for the high moral tone of its popula- 
tion, and no place of its means which has done more for the education 
of its youth. 

But I am admonished by the lateness of the hour that I must not 
intrude too much upon the time allotted for this occasion; and I will 
close by expressing a most fervent wish that the great principles and 
sources of prosperity which have made the town what it has been and 
now is, may be continued, and that the future history of Danvers may 
be more glorious even than its past. 


To a sentiment in remembrance of former residents of Danvers, 


Rey. CHARLES C. SEWALL, of Medfield, responded :— 


Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen :—You have been gath- 
ering up, to-day, the memories of olden times, and reading the history 
of Danvers in years gone by. In the memorable portion of that his- 
tory, which embraces the witchcraft delusion, the name of my an- 
cestor is associated, in many minds, with none but painful recollections. 
It may seem little becoming me, therefore, to respond to the sentiment 
just offered by the chair. ‘There is, however, good reason for the be- 
lief that the error of Judge Sewall, in cooperating to condemn the 
witches, was atoned for, as far as possible, by a public, solemn confes- 
sion, and by an unremitted sense of repentance and prayer for forgive- 
ness; and also, that the wrong he had helped to do your fathers was 
by them forgiven,—if not forgotten. 


162 


In the admirable lectures on Witchcraft, by my friend the present 
mayor of Salem, it is related that Judge Sewall, ‘‘on the day of the 
general fast, rose in the place where he was accustomed to worship, 
and in the presence of the great assembly, handed up a written con- 
fession, acknowledging the error into which he had been led, and pray- 
ing for the forgiveness of God and his people.” ‘ He also observed, 
annually, i in private, a day of humiliation and prayer, during the re- 
mainder of his life, to keep fresh in his mind a sense of repentance 
and sorrow for the part he bore in the trials” of the witches. And 
from his own Diary, we learn that his son, Joseph Sewall, afterwards the 
pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, was the earliest candidate 
for the pastoral office in the Second Congregational Chureh in this 
town. 

Besides, sir, 1 am a native of Essex county—born within sight of 
vyour hills,—and have been familiar’ from my boyhood with the names 
-and the persons of many citizens of this place. Among the pleasant 
sreeollections of my early life, is that of an annual visit of my father’s 
‘family at the hospitable mansion of the venerable Dr. Wadsworth, fol- 
‘lowed by a regular call upon the excellent Judge Holten. ‘The images 
‘of those men are distinctly before me now, and the impression I re- 
‘ceived of their character and worth will never be eflaced. ‘Then, too, 
the coming of the Danvers farmers to my father’s house, on market- 
‘days, was an incident strongly fixed in the mind of the boy, and served 
to‘make me acquainted with men, who commanded my fullest esteem 
and respect in after years. 

I have passed among you, since, no small part of the best and hap- 
piest years of my life. And if, during that period, there were no 
disposition and endeavor, on my part, corresponding with the kind 
regard manifested towards me—there were, I believe, no marked indi-- 
cations of any hereditary propensity to wound or afflict any, not even 
the descendants of the witches. Besides, sir, I have it from good 
authority, that when, in the settlement of its owner’s estate, the well- 
known Collins mansion was at my father’s disposal, it had been nearly» 
decided by him to make that our family residence. So that Danvers 
would then have been my native place, and I should have been able 
to claim a birthright here to-day. Withal, and aside from these per- 
sonal allusions, which, I trust, may be pardoned on an occasion like 
the present, there is no one, probably, not a native of the place, to 
-whom the name and the fame of Danvers can be of greater interest _ 
than tome. Here, as I have said, have been spent many of the best 
.and happiest -years of my life. Here was the birthplace of most of 
‘my children. And there is, sir, a significance in the sentiment you 
have offered,-which touches my heart very nearly, and prompts me 
‘most strongly to respond to it. 

Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen: I thank you for the 
remembrance of your former townsmen, and assure you that, as one 
‘of them, 1am most happy to be with you to-day ;—to be at home, 
once more, on this familiar spot, surrounded with so many familiar and 
endeared friends. 

‘Among the recollections of the occasion have been brought to mind 
‘many of the distinguished names and characters, which have graced 


163 


the history of Danvers in her earlicr and later years. There are oth- 
ers, also, some of them less known to fame, of whom I have personal 
recollections, and should be glad, were there time, to speak. There 
are Wadsworth and Cowles,—ministers, whose labors, characters and 
influence are still fresh in the memories, and indelibly fixed in the 
hearts of many among you. There are, in private life, the Kings, the 
Oakeses, the Proctors, the Pooles, the Putnams, the Shillabers, the 
Shoves, the Southwicks, the Suttons, and others;—men, in whose 
‘characters were traits of great worth, and the fruits of whose energy 
and enterprise, industry and thrift, integrity and benevolence, are 
thickly. spread around you in the high reputation and the general pros- 
perity of the town. But it would ill become me to occupy so large a 
portion of the few remaining moments of this occasion. I cannot for- 
bear, however, to speak, though but a word, of one whose name and 
image are freshly before us all to-day, and whose early removal from 
the world has given birth to a deep and universal feeling of sorrow 
and regret. I mean the Hon. Daniel P. King. 

There were several marked features, both in the public and private 
character of Mr. King, which render it a grateful duty to commemorate 
him as you have done, and as others have elsewhere done. They also 
make it an imperative duty to commend his example frequently to the 
young and aspiring minds in the community, for their regard and imi- 
tation. His high sense of honor, leading him always to preserve self- 
respect, and to guard against the slightest cause for just reproach from 
others ; his quiet industry and patient labor,—both with the hands and 
the head ; his firmness of purpose and ready obedience to every call of 
duty ; his incorruptible integrity ; his generous, and often concealed, 
benevolence ; his love for the place of his birth, his interest in the 
schools and the churches, his endeavors in every way to promote 
knowledge and virtue in the community; his love of country, his 
labors and influence in the councils of the state and the nation ; his 
watchful attention to every measure, which might help to secure the 
slory of the land, and to further the best interests of humanity ;—all 
these are well known here. And it cannot be too often repeated to 
the young, that it was by such a course of life, he raised himself to an 
eminence which commanded universal esteem and confidence, made 
him an honor to his native town, and a benefactor to his country. 

One most striking circumstance in the history of Mr. King has been 
brought to our notice to-day, by his distinguished colleague in Con- 
gress, who was particularly associated with him in the measure, during 
the discussion of which it occurred. The Hon. Mr. Palfrey has told 
us that Mr. King remained, for many hours, calmly attentive and faith- 
ful at his post in one of the most trying scenes of his public usefulness, 
whilst his heart was, at the same time, throbbing with the pangs of 
the most painful intelligence which could be borne to an affectionate 
parent. So deeply did he cherish the sense of duty to his country and 
humanity, that he could entirely suppress the emotions of an aching 
breast, and stifle the utterance of bereaved and wounded affection. 
Admirabl2 instance of moral firmness, of conscientious adherence to. 
duty, of Christian faith and fortitude. Worthy is it to be inscribed, in: 
letters of gold, on the walls of whe representative’s hall! Worthy is it 


* 


164 


to be held up for admiration before every public man, and every youth 
in our land! By them who have seen and known Mr. King in his 
religious life and character, it will easily be understood from what 
source such calmness and firmness proceeded. Would to Heaven 
they might be more commonly displayed where like manifestations are 
needed every day ! 

I have alluded to Mr. King’s interest in the schools and the churches 
of his native place. I believe, sir, it is only by a similar interest in 
these institutions, that you can preserve the present, or secure the future » 
prosperity and reputation of this town. In the fitting words with which 
the President welcomed the guests at this festive board, he brought 
to our imagination the vast increase and importance of Danvers after 
the lapse of another century ; and significantly asked what shall be the 
character of her citizens at that day. Sir, I believe it is not too much 
to affirm that the answer to that question depends, mainly, upon the 
watchful attention of her citizens now to the intellectual and religious 
education of the young. I believe it is by her schools, her Sabbath 
schools and her churches to-day, and for the century to come, infinite- 
ly more than by her material growth and prosperity, that the character 
of the Danvers of 1952 will be determined. Let these institutions be 
sacredly guarded, and their benefits be diffused to the utmost. Let no 
narrow views of present policy, or economy, prevent the proper en- 
largement and improvement of the one, and the steadfast and honora- 
ble maintenance of the other. Let every intellect receive the culture 
and development of a thorough education. Let every heart imbibe 
the hallowing influences of religion. Let the tokens of a patient in- 
dustry and a growing thrift, quicken the pulses of them who are about 
to enter upon the world’s labors and strifes. Let the increasing de- 
mands of the age, the deep wants of the soul, and the loud calls of 
humanity and of providence, give to them who are already treading 
the busy walks of manhood, steadiness of purpose, a chastened eager- 
ness in worldly pursuits, and make them live for higher ends than 
wealth or fame. Let the memory of the past, and the kindling visions 
of a future brighter day, be alike an impulse to faithfulness in every 
trust, and an incentive to progress in every noble achievement. 

I had intended, Mr. President, to say a few words if reference to the 
generous donation, the announcement of which has so delighted and 
electrified us all,—urging faithfulness to the trust, and the best possible. 
exertions to give effect to the noble purpose of the donor. But I am 
anticipated by others, and if it were not so, time would not permit. All 
honor to that noble merchant prince, whose wealth is thus employed 
for the highest benefit of his race! All honor and gratitude to the man 
whose heart beats warmly with the recollection of his early home, and 
with purposes of lasting benefit to his early friends ! 

Mr. President,'allow me, with the heartiest response to your own 
expression of regard for your former townsmen, to offer the following 
sentiment : , 


The Schools and the Churches of Danvers—The safeguards of her present, 
and the, hope of her future prosperity and fame. May they be sacredly guard- 
ed and sustained. 


165 


The Rev. ISRAEL W. PUTNAM; having been called upon, replied: 


Mr. President :—I have been requested to say a word in notice of 
one distinguished and excellent individual of our town, the late Hon. 
Samuel Holten. 

Although he was removed thirty-six years ago, from the scenes of 
this world, in which he had acted so important and so good a part, yet 
! know there are now living, and probably present on this interesting 
occasion, a few, at least, who had a personal knowledge of his history 
and character,—for he belonged to their generation or to the one next 
before them ; ‘but there are others here who have not that knowledge. 
To both these classes of my fellow-citizens, (and I must call all the 
inhabitants of my native town such,) I would say, that they will find 
the character of that excellent man faithfully delineated in the funeral 
discourse delivered by his friend and pastor, the late Rev. Dr. Wads- 
worth: and I beg leave to. refer you, Mr. President, and all here 
present, to that discourse for the true character of a man whose mem- 
ory should be cherished with respect and gratitude down to the latest 
generation of his people. 

It appears that Judge Holten (or rather Dr. Holten, as he always 
chose to be called) was born in 1738, one hundred and fourteen years 
ago, in Salem Village, now, for one hundred years, Danvers. He was 
in every respect a youth of high promise; but feebleness of health 
interfering with his father’s destination for him, which was a collegiate 
education, his attention was early turned to the healing art. At the 
age of eighteen, he commenced the practice of that profession in the 
town of Gloucester; but soon returned to his native place, where he 
spent a long life of usefulness in the town, and in various public ser- 
vices of the country. 

With all the talents his Creator had given him, which were. of a 
highly respectable character, and with a full share of the zeal of the 
patriots of our Revolutionary struggle, he enlisted, at the age of thirty, 
in the cause of his country ; and that cause he never forsook in its 
darkest day. ‘This occasion does not admit of even the briefest review 
of the faithful services he performed, or of the distinguished posts of 
trust and honor which he held from the year 1768 to that of 1788, 
when the great struggle was over, and the independence of the country 
was acknowledged by the British nation and the world. 

His counsels and his services were sought and rendered in the Com- 
monwealth or in the Continental Congress during that whole period ; 
and once he was elected as presiding officer of that patriotic and 
august body,—the highest seat of honor which his country had to give. 

But his public services did not cease when the independence of the 
country was achieved. He took an active part in the formation of the 
Federal Constitution; and after it was adopted was for several years a 
Member of Congress. ‘Twice he was an elector of president and vice 
president. Many high and responsible offices did he fill in the Com- 
monwealth,—being for eight years Representative of the town in the 
General Court, five years in the Senate, and twelve in the Council. __, 

When not employed in more public services abroad, he was with 
great unanimity called to the care of the local interests of the town 


(166 


and the parish to which he belonged. Twenty-four years he was 
treasurer of the town, and about half a century treasurer of the 
parish,—performing all the services of those offices gratuitously, and 
frequently when the treasury was empty, answering drafts upon it from 
his own personal resources. 

Forty-seven years in all he was in the public service of his country, 
—always punctual, faithful and devoted to his duties and engagements: 
and let it be remembered, as the venerable Wadsworth said, that- 
*‘ goodness and usefulness well characterize true greatness.” 

But the character of Dr. Holten shone with equal brightness in the 
private walks and social relations of life. Very few, however, of those 
who knew him intimately are now living to testify to his excellence in 
these respects. I would only add here that in the dignified appearance 
of his person, in the condescending and instructive manner of his 
conversation, and in his whole external deportment, he was at once a 
model and a monument of the old school of gentlemen of his day. 

But I should do injustice to the memory of Dr. Holten if I failed to 
bear testimony to the highest and noblest part of his character; I refer 
to his Christian piety. He was a man who revered the word and the 
institutions of God. He was constant and devout in his attendance on 
divine worship in public and in private life. He was ever alive to 
the interests of ‘ pure and undefiled religion,” cheerfully bearing a 
large share in the support of all Christian institutions, and adorning 
the profession of his Savior’s name by a life which exhibited in beau- 
tiful consistency the Christian virtues and Christian graces during the 
whole period of fifty-six years for which he was a member of the | 
church. 

If what I have said should have the effect of turning the attention of 
this generation of the people to a study of the character of Judge 
Holten, as they will find it delineated in the Discourse to which I have 
referred, lam persuaded they will not fail to cherish the highest respect 
for that distinguished and excellent man. 

It may not be known now,—the coming generations of our town 
may never know, the social, civil and moral worth of Dr. H.; but I 
think there can be little doubt that his services and his character 
contributed largely to the prosperity of the town that gave him birth, 
and that enjoyed nearly the whole of his long and useful life ;—con- 
tributed to the stability of its institutions, to the extent and variety of 
its educational privileges, to the order, industry and thrift of its inhab- 
itants, and to the highly honorable position it has taken and is destined 
to take among the towns of our beloved Commonwealth. 

But, Mr. President, I turn gratefully from these views of a character 
which I could not but love and respect from my early childhood, to the 
scenes of this joyful anniversary. I love to look around on the grounds 
and streets and dwellings of this part of the town,—changed greatly 
indeed from what they were fifty-five years ago, when I first began to 
see them. I love to think of the venerable men and women whom I 
knew here in other days,—the Poors, the Proctors, the Osborns, the 
Kings, the Danielses, the Pooles, and others. I love to go back to my 
own native parish and think of the Holtens, the Kettells, the Pages, 
the Nicholses, the Prestons, the Flints, the Princes, and my kinsmen | 


167 


the Putnams, and others, whom I once knew there. And here, did not 
delicacy forbid, I would name an honored father,*—not unknown as a 
useful citizen, a faithful and long-acting magistrate, and a firm sup- 
porter of the Christian ministry and Christian institutions. And here, 
too, I think I shall be allowed to name a sori of one of these respected 
families, who is yet among the living. I allude to my beloved Christian 
and ministerial brother, the Rev. Daniet Poor, who is still toiling and 
praying in heathen climes for the salvation of heathen men. A close 
and endeared intimacy of forty-five years warrants me to speak freely 
of him. Many now within the'compass of my voice know him well. 
Others do not. Were he here this day no one would need speak for 
him. Let me say, then, that he was born on this ground, and that 
here he spent his early days. Yes, and it was here that the Spirit of 
God turned his youthful heart to love the things of the Heavenly 
Kingdom ; and it was under the influence of that love that he then 
consecrated himself to the service of his Lord and Master, wherever 
on the earth it should be His holy will to employ him. It was here, 
in his very boyhood, (as he used pleasantly to tell me,) that he made 
his first attempts in literary and theological writing. It was in yonder 
little valley, almost within our sight, and while in his humble calling 
he was following his sluggish horse round in the bark-mill, that he 
composed that regular set of little sermons, which he sometimes 
showed a friend here, and which I hope he now has with him in India. 

But that ‘‘ chosen vessel’’ was not destined to be used permanently 
in a bark-mill. A mother’s prayers and a father’s means soon put him 
in the way of a classical and theological education. It was my own 
happiness to be associated with him in both. Soon he became a 
preacher of the blessed gospel of Jesus Christ, and, thirty-seven years 
ago, sailed for the Eastern world with her, whom he had chosen as a 
help-meet in his Missionary work. ) 

We all know, or ought to know, the rest,—his labors, there, his re- 
cent thrilling visit to his native land, his cheerful return to his heathen 
home. ‘Toil on, dear brother, thy Master’s eye approves thy work, 
and thou wilt soon hear that Master’s voice, saying, ‘* Well done, good 
and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” 

To the President of this festival I would say, if he was present, | 
congratulate you on having your lot cast in the good old town of Dan- 
vers. I congratulate you on being the successor of.such men as the 
venerated Clark and Wadsworth in the ministerial office. May it please 
the great Head of the church to allow you, like them, to finish out a 
full half century in the holy calling in which you have already spent 
so great a portion of your life.’ And, when at last you are- about 
being gathered unto the past generations of the town, may you be 
allowed to look upon its churches and its people as prosperous and 
happy, not only in the enjoyment of the blessings of civil and religious 
liberty, but also in the practical exhibition of the purity and piety of 
their Pilgrim Fathers. 


* Eleazer Putnam, Esq., a worthy man and magistrate, much employed as 
a surveyor, conveyancer, &c., and for the transaction of legal business in the 
town. 


168 


Mr. Putnam having concluded, the PresipENT proposed— 


The Annalist of Salen—He has rescued many important facts in our local 
history from oblivion, for which we owe him a debt of gratitude too great for 
present payment. He may, however, be assured that it never will be repudiated. 


This was responded to by Rey. J. B. FELT, of Boston: 


Mr. Chairman :—To every cooperator who stands on the isthmus of 
the present, and rescues some relics of the past from rushing to ob- 
livion, it is next to the approval of his conscious obligation that he 
hears those of his own day, and especially on an occasion like this, 
utter language which denotes that his labor has not been in vain. 

Sir, our attention thus far has been given chiefly to the men of this 
corporation. This is both natural and necessary in detailing events of 
history, because, such is the constitution of society, males are leaders 
in its prominent concerns. But it is well, so that the balance of justice 
should be right in the affairs of life, that we sometimes advert to the 
part which the gentler sex have had in the founding, preserving and 
advancing communities and nations. May we not, then, be allowed 
to do so at a time like this, when, more probably than at others, heart 
meets heart, and the sympathies of humanity flow spontaneously, 
generously and equitably ? 

Let us, for a few minutes, look at “the better half,’ who, between 
1630 and 1640, were among the settlers of Brooksby, the Village, and 
other principal divisions of this town. We behold them, as to their 
several departures from Salem, for such locations, Grants of land 
had been laid out for the families with which they were connected. 
Log cabins for some, till choicer lumber could be sawed, and better 
abodes for others, were prepared, with furniture less abundant than in 
our day. Informed that these habitations were ready for their accom- 
modation, they at different dates came to them, part of the way, as 
supposed, on the waters of North River, by canoes, then extensively 
used, and the rest on foot. With them, horses and pillions, and other 
land conveyances, were very scarce. Omnibuses and steam cars, so 
familiar to our vision, they never saw. 

Thus, entering upon their domicils with strong and consoling faith, 
that whatever might be their experience of weal or woe, it would be 
divinely overruled for their highest welfare, we cannot but revere and 
bless their memory, as important pioneers in the great work of em- 
ploying means for contributing to the promotion of the religious Com- 
monwealth,—the main object for which Massachusetts was settled. 
In view of the distance between them and their native land, 


“ What sought they, thus afar? 

Bright jewels of the mine? 

The wealth of seas,—the spoil of war? 
They sought a faith’s pure shrine. 

Ay, call it holy ground, 
The soil where first they trod, . 

They have left unstained what here they found, 
Freedom to worship! God.” 


But for the presence, approval and affection of such fair friends, few 
of the men, who cleared away the long-standing woods of this soil, and 


169 


braved the perils of the red man, lurking to be revenged for what he 

supposed the wrongs of his race ; perils of the wolf, bear and other 

ferocious beasts; of famine and _ pestilence,—would have had a heart 

to begin the world anew in such repulsive wilds. But for those of 
them, who had sufficient strength, even when the sufferings incident 
to new settlements were experienced ; when the miasma of stagnant 
waters and uncleared lands, scarcity of food and prevalence of sick- 
ness, were followed, among themselves and kindred, with more than 

usual mortality, there would have been few, if any, who, like minister- 
ing angels, would have comforted the distressed, given medicine for 
the recovery of the diseased, whispered truths of Christian hope be- 
yond the grave, prayed with the dying, and commended their souls to 
the welcome of the Puritan’s God. Look at these more than ‘Sisters 
of Charity,”’ in the trials which shook the pillars of the colony, and 
caused the stoutest heart to quail. Among tribulations of this kind, 
were the perplexed and lamentable controversy with Roger Williams. 
and his followers; the repeated demands of the crown for the sur- 
render of the charter, and, consequently, the prospective subversion of” 
civil and religious liberty, for which the emigrants had put to hazard 
every other temporal interest; the hostile daring of the powerful! 
tribes of the Narragansetts and Pequods, and the collisions, arising 
from the discussion of Ann Hutchinson’s sentiments and the disarming: 
of her supporters. Other events of similar danger might be cited,. 
enough to aid in the composition of an Iliad, full of stirring, impressive 
and truthful scenes. To meet them with the spirit of fortitude, and’ 
strenuously turn them aside from crushing the barriers of social order: 
and desolating the best refuge of the oppressed, what, of human aid,. 
was more needed, here and elsewhere, than the home influences of 
virtuous woman, which calm the disquieted t@mper, cool angry resent- 
ment, infuse aspirations for peace, cherish the feelings of forbearance, 
but, when necessity calls, nerve the arm for noble deeds in defence of 
equitable privileges? Such was the part of matrons, who were num- 

bered among the primitive members of this community. 

Of like tendency was their care for education and piety, the two. 
great sources, whence enlightenment to understand and principle to 
cherish and preserve the institutions, established by the patriarchs of 
New England. Beginning with the children at the fire-side and pro- 
viding for them advantages of instruction at school, they impressed on. 
their minds the excellence of knowledge, and, in process of training,, 
enabled them to perceive the difference between tyranny, which gov- 
erns to degrade its subjects, and liberty, which controls to elevate its. 
supporters. But these, and all else appertaining to the physical and 
intellectual properties of our race, they held far inferior to the religious. 
improvement of their descendants. -They did not pass over, as a dead’ 
letter, the instructions of the company, in England, to Governor Endi- 
cott. Does the inquiry arise, what were these? Part of them refer 
to the Lord’s day. ‘*’To the end the Sabbath may be celebrated in a 
religious manner, we appoint, that all, that inhabit the Plantation, both: 
for the general and particular employments, may surcease their labor 
every Saturday throughout the year, at three of the clock in the after- 
noon, and that they spend the rest of that day, in catechising and’ 


170 


’ 


preparation for the Sabbath.”’ In spiritual harmony with this injune- 
tion, another part follows. ‘* Our earnest desire is, that you take 
special care in settling families, that the chief in the family, at least some 
one of them, be grounded in religion, whereby morning and evening 
duties may be duly performed, and a watchful eye held over all in 
each family, that so disorders may be prevented and ill weeds nipt 
before they take too great a head.” Here, Mr. Chairman, as is well 
known, was the application of that religious element, which historians 
of eminence, like ‘Tocqueville, acknowledge to have been as the salt, 
which has prevalently savored the population of our country so as to 
keep its institutions of freedom from being cast out and trodden under 
the feet of licentiousness and oppression. ‘To commands of such vital 
importance, the mothers of Brooksby, the village and other neighbor- 
hoods, did vigilantly and perseveringly look,so that communion with 
the Father of all mercies in the Sanctuary and around the domestic 
altar, might be punctually practised, as among the chief safeguards 
against infidelity and iniquity, and the great promoters of faith and 
righteousness. 

Thus actuated by the highest motives, revealed from the wonder- 
ful Code of the Moral Universe, to our fallen race, to employ the best 
means for accomplishing the greatest good, they had the most suitable 
preparation for every other concern of their domestic and social circles. 
In these, though coming far short of perfection, they endeavored to dis- 
charge their relative duties, at home and abroad, so that all, with whom 
they were associated, might be the bétter and the happier for such a 
connexion, In this manner, they stamped upon the minds and hearts of 
the young,soon to take on themselves the public responsibilities of 
their seniors, principles, which contributed more than the strongest for- 
tifications, the largest and best appointed fleets and armies could, to the 
permanency of the town and Commonwealth in their spirit, life, pur- 
pose and salutary influences. 

Every sire, then blessed with such a ‘ help-meet,”’ could he speak 
from his long resting place, would say to each of his sons, now in the 
morning of life, 

“ Oh! link with one spirit, that ’s warmly sincere, 
That will heighten your pleasure and solace your care; 
Find a soul you may trust, as the kind and the just, 
And be sure, the wide world holds no treasure so rare ; 
Then the frowns of misfortune may shadow our lot, 
The cheek-searing tear-drops of sorrow may start, 

But a star, never dim, sheds a halo for him, 

Who can turn, for repose, to a home in the heart.” 


Cannot all of us, Mr. Chairman, who have carefully looked over the 
ground, respond, with a hearty amen, to the foregoing positions ? 
William Hubbard, of Ipswich, in his election sermon of 1676, related, 
that there was a town, in Germany, called Mindin, because the em- 
peror and several of the neighboring princes, harmonized there, in 
opinion, on some important question. It will be perceived, that Mindin 
is from the German mein, dein, or in English, mine, thine, indicating, 
that clashing judgments of one party and the other, had been brought 
together and solved into a pleasant unanimity. We know, also, that 
the name, Danvers, given to this corporation, was so granted in the 


171 


a 


lively exercise of kind affections towards a patron. With the at- 
mosphere of these happy examples around us, can we do less, in view 
of what the primitive matrons of this community did, than freely and 
fully unite in the sentiment,— 


That they were worthy parents of worthy descendants, and, while we grate- 
fully remember the excellence of the mothers, we will cherish the best wishes 
for the prosperity of the children. 


The following sentiment was then announced :— 


The Women of Danvers in eit times—like the staple manufacture 
of the town—firm, tough and well tanned,—but unlike it, as they were not to 
be trampled upon. 


To this sentiment, SAMUEL P. FOWLER responded : 


Mr. President :—I had hoped that some one else would respond to 
your sentiment, but as no one arises, | will attempt to offer a few re- 
marks. The women of Danvers; Mr. President, have always manifested 
a great interest in the welfare of their country, and have ever been 
ready to assist in extending the glory of her arms abroad, and pro- 
moting the blessings.of peace at home.- When their sons were called 
upon by Governor Shirley, in 1755, to form a company of volunteers 
to reduce the forts of Nova Scotia, they cheerfully furnished them 
with clothing and other articles necessary for their comfort. After 
they were equipped, and about to join their regiment at Boston, these 
patriotic women of Danvers accompanied the volunteers to the village 
church, where a long and interesting sermon was delivered by Rey. 
Peter Clark. His subject upon this,occasion was, ‘‘ A word in season 
to soldiers.”’ , 

The daughters of these energetic women were the mothers of 1775, 
who, prompted by the same love of country, cheerfully yielded their 
husbands and sons to secure on the field of battle its independence. 
Some of them, the day after the battle of Lexington, visited the scene 
of that bloody conflict. Thus, at this early period of the Revolution, 
were enkindled those fires of patriotism which burnt brightly till its 
close. But the women of the present day are not called upon to make 
such sacrifices for their country ; if they were, we doubt not, the same 
spirit would be exhibited. It is theirs now to adorn and beautify the 
inheritance so dearly purchased, and by their virtues to increase its 
glory and prosperity. Upon occasions of public interest, the energy, 
skill and taste of women are all called into requisition. We are in- 
debted to the women of Danvers for much of the neatness and taste 
displayed by our public schools, for those oriental costumes and ancient 
tableaux, which have added so much to the interest of our Centennial 
Celebration. 

In the sentiment offered, allusion has been made to the staple man- 
ufacture of the town. Mr. President, Danvers has never been ashamed 
of her industrious and intelligent citizens, who have labored in the 
leather business, in all its various branches. She has often presented 
them with posts of honor and trust, and they in return have always 
been ready to sustain her interests, and have greatly contributed to her 


172 


wealth and prosperity. And may the time never arrive when our sons 
will be ashamed of this business, or Danvers will have reason to be 
ashamed of them. 


The next sentiment announced was— 


South Reading and Danvers—United by bands of iron, but still more 
strongly by the ties of friendship and mutual good will. . 


To the above, Hon. LILLEY EATON, of South Reading, remarked 


substantially as follows :— 


I rise, Mr. President, obedient to your call, but not with the intention 
to inflict upon you a speech. I much prefer to save you from the 
tediousness, and myself from the mortification, of such an act at this 
late hour. I cannot, however, forbear to allude to the kind terms of 
your sentiment, which seems to call upon South Reading for a response, 
by assuring you that South Reading, and her good mother old Reading, 
cordially reciprocate the feelings of good will which you now express. 
They both rejoice in all the bonds of union which attach them to Dan- 
vers. They rejoice in the business relations,—those leathern cords, 
which bind them to each other by the ties of a mutual interest ; but 
they rejoice more, and chiefly, in those ties of friendship and good will 
which always have, and I trust always will, unite their respective in- 
habitants. Old Reading recollects the days of ancient times, and the 
people of former generations. She recalls to mind that from Salem— 
then including Danvers—from Lynn and from Ipswich, she formerly 
received the chief and best part of her permanent settlers. She also 
hopes, Mr. President, that you will not refuse to acknowledge in rgturn, 
that while she has sent her rivers of population to Ipswich and Lynn, 
she has also done something by supplying with her little rivulets the 
villages and ‘* Dishfuls”’ of Danvers. 

If time permitted, I might go into particulars, and ask where Danvers 
obtained her Uprons, but from old mother Reading ?—and the spirit 
of enterprise they have infused into your community ought to serve to 
bleach out any specks, if any could be found in her good name, and | 
glue us more strongly together. 

I might also ask you, Mr. President, where your ancestors, before 
the Revolution, would have obtained their leather gloves and small 
clothes, had not Witt1am Poo sg, the leather-dresser of Reading, who 
was born there in 1726, emigrated to Danvers, and settled down by 
the side of Strong-water Brook? It was to his ancestor that the earliest 
settlers of Reading were indebted for the staff of life. Joun PooLe 
‘was the first mill owner in Reading, and from his pond Pooles in abun- 
nlance may be found sparkling all over the broad surface of our country. 

I might go on and show you many other instances of family rela- 
tionship, but my purpose in rising is fulfilled when I propose the fol- 
lowing sentiment : 


Danvers and Readiig—May the iron bands, the leathern cords, and friendly 
.ties, which now exist, continually grow stronger and stronger, so long as the 
waters run in our rivers or sparkle in the pools. 


173 


JOHN. WEBSTER, Esq., of Newmarket, N. H., one of the Vice- 


Presidents of the day, responded to the following : — 
The Public Schools of Danvers—Excelsior their motto, their aim perfection. 


\ 

Mr. President :—It is a source of satisfaction to those of us here 
present, who claim the old town of Danvers as the home of our child- 
hood, but whose lot in manhood has made them wanderers on the sea, 
or sojourners by the granite hills of the North, or the sunny climes of 
the South, to witness the evidences of prosperity and progress which 
we see around you. 

By, the unique and skilfully devised procession which has been 
escorted through your streets to-day, you have exhibited to us, Mr. 
President, the past in contrast with the present. We have seen the 
maiden and the matron of olden time, the witches of the past, as well 
as the witches of the present, the farmer and mechanic of old, with the 
rude implements of their pursuits, the gentleman citizen, with his long 
cue and hair, made white by fashion, not by age, the honest quaker, 
with no hybrid habiliments, the military officer, as much over covered 
with coat as deficient in his nether garment, the reverend clergyman, 
his parish then a life estate—all these, in the varied costume of the 
times, have been called up from the grave, and passed before us ;— 
still more, sir, distinguished and ‘eloquent speakers, here present, have 
told us of your early history, of your deeds of bravery in defence of 
our country, and have traced your progress in population, in wealth, in 
enterprise, in intelligence from the time that was, to the time that is— 
they have told us of the public interest felt in your public schools, and 
of their present efficient condition—and, in the words of the sentiment 
which has now been proposed, that your motto is Excelsior, your aim 
so high even as perfection. Jt would have been interesting and in- 
structive, sir, if you could also have brought up from the oblivion of 
the past the school and the schoolmaster of the olden time, to pass ex- 
amination before us. It is not for me, Mr. President, to go any further 
into the past, than is within the knowledge of many others here present 
—say some thirty-five years ago. | 

There then stood by the side of the Old South Church a little one- 
story, one-room schoolhouse, known as Number One, in Danvers. 
At the time to which I refer, the teacher of this school was a quaint, 
eccentric, corpulent old gentleman * A broad rimmed _hat, on which 
time had made wrinkles, as well as on the face of the wearer, a dark 
colored, broad skirted coat, somewhat s2edy, while that part of his dress 
now called pants came only to the knees, and were ornamented with 
a huge buckle, his feet encased in a pair of coarse cow-hide shoes, or, 
at times, in boots of the same material, which came nigh to conjunc- 


* Master Benj. Gile, whose virtues as well as eccentricities are well known 
to the inhabitants of Danvers. He was a brother to Rev. Dr. Gile, of Milton. 
After retiring from the office of teacher he was appointed to an office of trust 
in town, the duties of which he performed with great fidelity. He died April 
16, 1834, aged 70, and caused the following line to be inscribed on his grave- 
stone, which stands in the Monumental Cemetery:—‘I TaveuT LITTLE 
CHILDREN TO READ.” 


174 


tion with the nether garment, was the usual costume he wore, a fashion 
somewhat. antecedent to the time of which I speak—all which gave 
him the appearance of a gentleman of the old, school. And now, 
Mr. President, let me introduce you inside the schoolhouse aforesaid. 
It is a cold, winter morning—a little box cast-iron stove stands near 
the centre Bf the room—the seats around bear evident marks of that 
trait of character, industry—for which your people still maintain so— 
favorable reputation—and true is the saying, sir, that ‘* scissors cut as 
well as knives,”’ for the side of the room occupied by the gentler sex, 
is not free from these marks of labor. Well, sir, the master stands at 
his desk, and the school is opened with the salutation,x—Boys, I am 
10,000 years old. You see I’ve got my old coat on to-day, and I 
always tell you, when you see that you must look out. I hope I shall 
not have to kill any of you to-day. The time at which I take you into 
the school, as I have said, was a cold, stormy morning in winter. The 
little stove is crammed with wood, and its influence, as the school 
opens, is only felt in its immediate vicinity. ‘The snow drifts are too 
high for the girls to be out, and the boys are permitted to cluster round 
the stove, the usual routine of exercise omitted, and the morning hours 
devoted to reading the Bible; such of the scholars reading a verse 
each, alternately, that choose to do so, while others, with the Bible at 
hand, are playing Pins—head to points—and others practising the in- 
structive lesson of Spin Sparrow—but, alas! for the lad who has not 
the right verse in succession, to read, if called to do so-by our master ; 
the heavy cow-hide whip rings over the back of the unfortunate one, 
and a general whispering inquiry, from one to the other, is— Where is 
the place ? 

In the course of instruction pursued by our teacher, it was a matter 
of no trifling importance that every one in the class should exactly toe 
the line or crack in the floor. Failing to do so, as was sometimes the 
case, it was no unheard of practice of the master to apply his huge 
shoulders, vigorously, to the one standing at the head, and a good pro- 
portion of the whole class were tumbled in a heap on the floor; as 
you have seen, sir, a skilful player at ten pins, by striking the head 
one, score the other nine. 

In addition to the distinctive names which parents usually give to 
their children, our teacher had quite a number of pupils that he dis- 
tinguished by favorite, additional titles of his own. One girl, now the 
wife of one of your wealthy citizens, was usually addressed as the girl 
_ who came out of the clouds ; one boy was called Wisdom, one Bona- 

parte, another Old Buck, &c. 

Nor were the modes of punishment for school offences any less 
original, ingenious and impressive. Among these, were standing on 
the platform with a piece of wood partially split,. which was placed : 
across the nose of the offender, the effect of which was something «like 
placing the nose ina vise. This was called wearing the spectacles, 
after wearing which an hour a boy could, undoubtedly, see to study 
better. 

Holding a heavy stick of wood in the hand, with the arm extended 
perpendicularly, was another method of punishment, and others, still” 
more original, were practised, which I will not take up your time 
in relating. 


175 ' 


The course of instruction was limited to Reading, Spelling, Writing, 
and Arithmetic, in which latter branch our teacher was wonderfully 
skilled. Near the close of his administration, which continued several 
years, the first germ of progress began to be developed, a portion of 
the parents thinking it necessary their children should be taught 
English grammar. Murray’s Grammar was accordingly introduced 
into the school as a reading book, and this was the method by which 
we were initiated into this mysterious science, and it may suffice to 
say—our knowledge of this branch was very soon fully up to the 
standard of perfection to which our teacher himself had arrived. 
The schoolmaster of the present applies the screw to develop the 
boy’s brains, he of the past applied the cow-hide to develop marks on 
our backs. The teacher of to-day is inquisitive, he requires a Why or 
a Wherefore ; the former one never gave offence to his pupils in this 
way. 
Well dol remember the fear that filled my youthful heart, at the 
oft-repeated warning given us to beware and dread the last day,—not 
of the duration of the world,—but the last day of school term. So ims 
pressed was I with the fear of what the cow-hide was to do, that I pre- 
vailed on my parents to allow me to be absent on this eventful day, 
and great was my astonishment, when meeting my school companions 
after the close, to hear how the day had been passed. The exercises 
were commenced with a spelling match ; two of the elder lads choos- 
ing, alternately, the most skilled in this important branch, and so down 
till rows were formed, facing each other for the battle, the whole 
length of the room. The crooked and uncouth words of the Dictiona- 
ry were selected for the contest, and the side, which had recorded 
against it the most errors, was pronounced the vanquished, and the 
victors were allowed to hurra, scream, shout, hiss. and stamp their feet 
and clap their hands, to their heart’s content. 

After this, all the jack-knives, tops, pop guns, spin sparrows, and 
other boyish valuables, which had been seized for their several offences 
during the year, were taken from the depot, the master’s desk, thrown 
on the floor, and scrambled for by all the boys. 

Mr. President, I have detained you longer than I intended. The 
imperfect sketch which I have given is no fancy, no embellished pic- 
ture of our school, as several I see present, who were fellow-pupils at 
the time, can bear me witness. 

Sir, a distinguished writer has said, “to interpret the present thors 
oughly, we must understand and unfold the past.” The historian, the 
antiquary are searching the world over, among musty parchments and 
fragmentary documents, for record of deeds ‘of the past. Should not 
the school and the teacher of other days be brought up to the light, 
that our youth may more highly estimate the advantages of the 
present? Great men are giving the work of their heads and the 
work of their hands to popular education. Our towns, even those of 
limited, pecuniary means, are taxing themselves, with no grudging or 
stinted measure, for this object. 

A history of the public schools of New England, their origin, their - 
progress, their present condition, it seems to me, would be no unwel- 
come volume. 


176 


What the record will be of the schools of Danvers at a second cen- 
tennial celebration, is not for us to inquire. Only Jet your motto con- 
tinue to be ** Excelsior, your aim perfection.” 

I close, sir, by proposing the following sentiment : 


The Pupils of the Public Schools of Danvers—Let them profit by a compari- 
son of the present with the past, and make the best use of their increased 
advantages of instruction, always venerating those whose highest ambition it 
was, to “ teach little children to read.” © 


Rev. FRANK P. APPLETON rose, and spoke as follows :-— 


I am glad, Mr. President, to see that on this interesting occasion 
the public schools of Danvers have not been forgotten. Perhaps there 
is no feature of the day more full of beauty, meaning and hope than 
the long ranks of our public school children. ‘They moved then as 
the ambassadors, the messengers, from us to the coming generation, 
those through whom the old men of the next centennial shall know us. 
—the bond between us of the then Past, and those of the then Present - 
—midway over a space we cannot cross. Through them our thought 
and life shall then speak. ‘Their children telling of what we now do 
-—their life stretching onward far beyond our own. ‘The battle, 
God grant them faith to make it the victory, of life fast gathering 
around them. Was it nota touching thought, that of all those un- 
changed locks and faces, unworn by thought and care, not one 
could be remembered by the younger lives of the next centennial, 
other than as with whitened head and time-stamped brow? Was it 
not a pleasant thought to have, that many of them would then be the 
venerated and the honored and the gratefully remembered? Yes, 
they were those, around whom, in their utter unconsciousness, gathered 
the meaning, the virtue and the character of the second centennial. 
As children they were all this and more, but as representatives of the 
public schools, another and weightier meaning lay upon their presence. 
They spoke of what is to us, and | say it with due thought, of what 
is without reservation or exception the most pure, most Christian, 
therefore most powerful institution in our midst, worth all the rest ten 
times repeated. ‘The most pure, powerful Christian institution in our 
midst—the Public School; better and stronger than constitution, law 
or church. Yes, I am sure of that. You may say, without these last 
public schools would never have been. Be that as it may, here they 
are, and if thus born it will not be the first time the child has been 
better and nobler than the parent, and become in turn, guardian, sup- 
port and protector. Such our common schools now are. The founda- 
tion of our future prosperity—the one outward institution upon which all 
our others must depend, free from party or sectarian rule. Kept sa- 
credly free from all such poison, and the best trait in our New England 
character is that we, however else we differ and quarrel, join in guard- 
ing our schools against these Satans of public and social life. To the 
public school system I look as the last and best hope for our country 
and our race. There lies the heart of all republicanism, all true 
equality, and all free religion. And the more you do for that, the 
more I solemnly believe you do for God and man, and true duty. It 


177 


is a growing power, one whose calm and yet tremendous energy has 
never before been tried on earth: the great new feature of American 
civilization. With all its present errors,—for it is just dawning upon 
us now,—its spirit is right. And if I were to sum up in one sentence 
the word [ would speak to the coming generation, | would say—Br 
TRUE TO CONSCIENCE AND your Pusiic ScHoo.s. 


Dr. EBENEZER HUNT responded to the following sentiment :— 


The principle of Total Abstinence—It found its earliest friends and warmest 
advocates among the citizens of Danvers: they will be among the last to 
abandon it. 


Mr. President :—It is with reluctance that I arise to respond to the 
sentiment just given; not that I am not satisfied of its truth, but be- 
cause I feel confident that I shall not be able to do justice to the subject. 
It is not an easy task, especially for one unaccustomed to public speak-- 
ing, in an after-dinner speech adequately to portray the labors and 
sacrifices of the early friends of temperance. 

The evils intemperance is capable of inflicting on a community have. 
been so often and so ably described, that I shall be pardoned for not 
touching upon that subject. And yet only those who have already 
passed the meridian of life know fully what it was and what it 
threatened to become in the earlier days of the temperance movement. 
It is difficult for those not living at the time to conceive of the strong 
hold which the love of intoxicating drinks had taken upon the people 
indiscriminately. Though fashionable, how constant and how enormous 
in quantity was its consumption. 

Only such can duly appreciate the honors due, and the gratitude 
which we ought to feel, for those who made the first successful effort 
to stem the torrent of evil which seemed destined to subvert and over- 
whelm the social fabric. 

As early as the year 1817, if my memory serves me, a society was 
organized in the town of Danvers, having for its object the suppression 
of intemperance and its kindred vices. For more than twenty years 
this society waged an uncompromising and almost single-handed 
combat agaizst the giant evil. And may we not confidently assert that 
it is, under Providence, mainly owing to the action of this society, that 
Danvers, as regards temperance, is among the foremost if not the first 
town in the Commonwealth ? 

Active in the organization of this society we find the names of Judge: 
Holten, Rev. Messrs. Wadsworth, Walker and Chaplain, Dr. Torrey, 
Elijah Upton, Fitch Poole, Eleazer Putnam, Caleb Oakes, Ebenezer 
Putnam, and Samuel Fowler. These were the early fathers of the 
society. Associated with them we find the names of younger men, but 
not less ardent friends of the cause: such as Jesse Putnam, Andrew 
Nichols, Archelaus Putnam, Elias Putnam, Arthur Drinkwater, Rufus 
Choate, John Peabody, Alfred Putnam, John Porter, and many others, 
some of whom, I rejoice to say, are now present, and others, although 
dead, yet speak to us by their influence and example, urging us to 
renewed efforts in the cause in which they so faithfully and so success- 
fully labored. ! 


178 


It was no easy task in those early days of the temperance movement 
to face the frowns of public opinion, to bear the scoffs and sneers of 
the thoughtless and the indifferent, and to pursue a course so diamet- 
rically opposite to the fashion and the prevailing custom of the com- 
munity in which they lived. It is this consideration that should 
especially entitle them to our warmest gratitude and thanks. 

It would be not a little creditable to these worthies, and to the town, 
if, when the true history of these events shall be written, it should 
appear that the Temperance Reformation, so called, which subsequently 
pervaded the whole length and breadth of the land with healing in its 
wings, at the time of the Washingtonian movement, and which carried 
in its train joy and gladness to so many hitherto wretched homes,— 
should have had its origin in the efforts of these early advocates of the 
cause. However this may be, they can never be deprived of the 
honor of having organized in Danvers the first permanent society for 
the suppression of intemperance, that, so far as has come to my 
knowledge, ever existed. 

While we cherish the memory of these heroic and_ philanthropic 
men, let us be careful to imitate their example. Let us see to it that 
our efforts are not wanting to sustain and uphold our present anti-liquor 
law, from which so much is anticipated by the friends of temperance 
in this and the neighboring states. Let us do this, and the blessings of 
those that are ready to perish shall come upon us. And at the next 
Centennial Celebration in Danvers, long after we shall have gone to 
our reward, our names shall be freshly remembered along with those 
who have preceded us in the warfare against one of the monster evils 
of the age, and in meliorating the condition of mankind. 





— 


LETTERS, 
There were numerous letters received and read, from gentlemen 
who were unable to be present. 
A sentiment complimentary to Rosert C. WintHRoP was responded 
to by the reading of a letter, from which the following is an extract :— 


‘¢ Danvers has just reason to be proud of her history. After more 
than a hundred years of honorable connection with the ancient Town 
of Salem,—the very Plymouth of Massachusetts Colony, where John- 
son and Saltonstall and Winthrop landed, and where Endicott lived,— 
it has now enjoyed another Century of distinguished independent ex- 
istence. 

The annals of the town, during the whole period, are replete with 
interesting incidents, and with the acts of patriotic men. As the birth- 
place of the lidn-hearted Putnam, it would have no ordinary claim to 
the regard of us all. But Putnam seems only to have been a type of 
his towns-people, and the hills and plains of our Revolutionary struggle 
have borne frequent witness to the bravery of Danvers men. i 

I cannot forget, too, that you have furnished excellent and eminent 
men to the ranks of civil life; and it would have given me peculiar 
pleasure, on this occasion, to have borne testimony to the fidelity and 
patriotism of your late lamented Representative in Congress, the Hon. 


179 


Daniel P, King. But his memory, I am sure, is still fresh in all your 
hearts, and his fidelity and patriotism require no other testimony than 
that which he has abundantly impressed on the records of his public life. 

I regret, gentlemen, that imperative engagements will not allow me 
to be with you. I pray you to present my best respects to your fellow- 
citizens, and my best wishes for the continued prosperity and welfare 
of the town, and believe me, 

With great regard and respect, 
Your obliged friend and ob’t serv’t, 

Hon. R. 8. Daniets. ROBERT C. WINTHROP. 


James H. Duncan, M. C., in a long and interesting letter, says :— 
“*} am vividly reminded, while I write, of one,—your late esteemed 
fellow-citizen and representative, and my colleague,—who, had he 
lived, would have taken the liveliest interest in this celebration. For 
everything concerning the interests of his native town, county or state, 
was near his heart. He was removed to a higher sphere too soon for 
his country and his friends, but not until he had earned an honorable 
and enduring reputation and an abiding-place in the hearts of his fel- 
low-citizens.”’ 

The following toast was then drank in solemn silence, the whole 
company rising : i 

The Memory of the Hon. Daniel P. King—His memory 1s still fresh in al] 


our hearts, and his fidelity and patriotism require no other testimony than that 
which he has abundantly impressed on the records of his public life’ 


The following toast was then submitted : 


The Clergy—In the annals of our town we have had bright examples of all 
that is profound in learning, eminent in piety, and pure in the private relations 
of life—those who “allure to heaven and lead the way.” 7 


Rev. Mr. Field, who was expected from Troy, New York, not being 

present, the following letter was read :— 
Troy, June 14, 1852. 

Gentlemen :—It would afford me the greatest pleasure to attend, in 
compliance with your kind request, the approaching centennial cele- 
bration in Danvers. My duties here, however, will make it impossible 
for me to be with you on that occasion. ‘That it will be an occasion of 
deep interest, I do not doubt. 

There are many events connected with the history of Danvers that 
will furnish themes pleasant and profitable to contemplate,—themes 
that will impart eloquence to the orator and inspiration to the poet, and 
awaken in the hearts of all who consider them, a love of liberty, of ed- 
ucation, and of religion. 

To myself, personally, Danvers must ever be a plate of the most 
interesting associations, Having passed there many happy years, in 
duties that brought me near to the minds and hearts of many of its 
inhabitants, having been called so often to rejoice with them in their 
joys and to weep with them in their sorrows, memory must cease to 
perform its office when Danvers and its people shall fail to have a large | 
place in my thoughts and affections. 


180 


Please accept my best wishes for the prosperity of the town of Dan- 
vers, in all its interests, and believe me, 
Gentlemen, sincerely and respectfully yours, 


THOMAS P. FIELD. 


The following letter was read from Hon. Rurus Cuoate, formerly 

of Danvers :— 
Boston, May 26, 1852. 

Gentlemen :—I had the pleasure to find your letter, of the 20th, on 
my return yesterday from Washington. It would give me the truest ~ 
pleasure, for many reasons, to be present at the proposed celebration, 
and to share in its instructions, its memories, and its hopes,—and I 
shall certainly be there, if the necessity of attending the Baltimore 
Convention, and the impossibility of doing so by reason of peremptory 
detention here, does not prevent me. I wish you all possible success 
in the services of the day, and a future for Danvers worthy of her his- 
tory, virtues, and energy. [am most truly, 

Your friend and fellow-townsman, 


Hon. R. S. DaniExs. RUFUS CHOATE, 
Among the toasts was the following :— 


Our Representative in Congress—His eloquence has embalmed the memory 
of those of our citizens who fell at the Concord fight, and we fully appreciate 
the patriotic motives which induced him to tell in the Halls of Congress the 
story of their devotion to the cause of Liberty. 


In response to this, a long letter was read from Hon. RoBErt 
Rantovt, Jr., of which the following is the most material part :— 


‘¢ Danvers may well be proud of her history. She is one of a group 
of towns which have done as much for the liberties of the nation and 
the world as any other equal population on the continent. The self- 
sacrificing devotion with which, when the Boston Port Bill took effect 
in June, 1774, Salem sternly and inflexibly refused to profit by the 
reduction to slavery of others, is worthy to be remembered and imi- 
tated forever by that patriotic city, and by the whole North. Elbridge 
Gerry, of Marblehead, a signer of the old Articles of Confederation, 
and of the Declaration of Independence, was the chairman of the 
committee who reported the resolutions adopted April 30th, 1784, 
determining that the power to regulate commerce ought to be vested in 
the United States,—which resolutions were the germ of the present 
Constitution of the United States. It is but a small addition to the 
glory of such a man, that he afterwards served as Vice President under 
that system whose corner-stone he had laid. Nathan Dane, of Beverly, 
was chairman of the grand committee who, on the 21st of February, 
1787, reported, the resolve calling the convention at Philadelphia to 
‘render the Federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of govern- 
ment, and the preservation of the union,” The same Nathan Dane 
was the author of that immortal ordinance which rescued from the 
withering curse of slavery the broad Northwest,—doing for the territory 
between the Ohio and the lakes, what Thomas Jefferson had in vain 
attempted to do for the vast region now constituting Alabama, Missis- 
sippi, and the other southwestern states. | 


181 


‘¢ These towns could boast not only the guiding mind in the decisive 
movements which I have mentioned, but their courage to dare, and 
fortitude to suffer, in the great cause, were equally conspicuous. Bey- 
erly first flung to the ocean breezes the continental flag on board the 
schooner Hannah, and inaugurated those stripes and stars, which are 
the emblem of glory and victory—shall I say also of liberty—where- 
ever blow the winds or roll the waves. Manly, of Marblehead, held 
the first naval commission under the hand of George Washington, and 
the seal of the Union; and Mungford, of Marblehead, first poured out 
his willing soul with the death shout, ‘Don’t give up the ship!” Dan- 
vers, Lynn, and Beverly, notwithstanding their great distance from the 
line of action, had about one-fourth part of all the killed and wounded 
in the hurry of the ‘“¢ Red-coats”’ from Concord to the shelter of their 
ships. ‘The sons of Beverly were the farthest from the scene, of all 
who rushed to deliver in their testimony in the eventful trial of the 
19th of April, yet their full quota arrived and acted there; and I have 
seen the garment rolled in blood of one of my townsmen who laid 
down his life in witness of his abhorrence of slavery. Danvers alone 
lost more men killed, on that bloody baptismal day of American 
Liberty, than any other town, after the first unprovoked, sudden and 
unresisted massacre at Lexington, at sunrise.” 


Mr. Rantovut forwarded the subjoined sentiment :— 


The Freemen of the Towns of the North—May they, in their zeal for the 
preservation of the Union and the Constitution, never foget that tHE Union, to 
be preserved, should continue to be WoRTH PRESERVING, AND THE CONSTITU- 
TION A BOND OF FREEDOM. 


A toast complimentary to Mr. Wesster was next given. The fol- 
lowing letter was read in response :— 

Wasuineton, May 31, 1852. 

Gentlemen :—I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of the 20th of this month, inviting me, in behalf of the town of 
Danvers, to be present at a proposed centennial celebration of the sepa- 
ration of Danvers from Salem, on the 16th of June next. 

Iam always gratified, gentlemen, with these public remembrances of 
distinguished epochs of the past. Our New England history is full of 
instruction, our fathers having left us a rich inheritance of evangelical 
religion, sound morals, and political freedom. We honor ourselves, 
whenever we honor them; and their admirable example may well 
stimulate us to put forth new efforts for the promotion of civil and re- 
ligious liberty, the diffusion of knowledge, and the advancement of all 
the blessings and all the charities of social life. 

I regret, gentlemen, to be obliged to say, that my public duties will 
not allow me to be with you and your friends, at the proposed celebra- 
tion; but I tender to you and to them my best regards and most sin- 
cere Boon wishes. DANIEL WEBSTER. 

R. 8. Daniezs, Esq., and others. 


Hon. James Savace, the President of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society, wrote : 


182 


‘¢ My interest in your community has from early days been active in 
the search for causes of that greatest calamity that ever befell New 
England, whereof the chief scene of distress was within your bounds, 
though sixty years before the separation from Salem. Some repara- 
tion by tardy justice has in a second, a third, or a fourth generation 
been exhibited ; but, gentlemen, your neighbors have not, in my opin- 
ion, found greater evidence in any other quarter of the earth of the 
sacredness of the truth, how much better is it to suffer injustice than to 
inflict it. Which of you had not rather be the martyr, George Bur- 
roughs, than Chief Justice Stoughton, whose diabolical delusion con- 
curred with that of the majority in giving sentence of death ? 

But beyond the sad reminiscences of your doleful era, in which no 
other town of New England can compete with you in measure of mis- 
ery, I exult in your almost adequate superiority in the exhibition of the 
love of your country in the dark months and years prior to our national 
independence. Here all is joyous in recollection ; and Danvers is well 
deserving of the happiness she has enjoyed since our firmament has 
been blessed with the constitution of 1789, for near three times the 
length of that period preceding, when only tremendous tempest or 
threatening and malignant meteors seemed to usurp all the sky. 

I am, gentlemen, with highest regard, 
Your very obedient, 


Hon. R. S. Dantets and others. JAS. SAVAGE. 


The following toast was given : 


Edward Everett—A name always associated with profound learning, skilful 
diplomacy, and graceful oratory. 


Hon. Epwarp Everett, regretting his inability to be present, wrote : 
** It would afford me much pleasure to be present on an occasion of so 
much interest. The Municipal Organization of New England is one 
of the great elements of our prosperity ; and the annals of most of our 
towns are rich with traditions and collections which deserve to be 
handed down to posterity.” 


The following toast was given by Edward Lander, Esq. : 


The Separation of Danvers and Salen—While the men are celebrating the 
dissolution of the Union, and the women go for Union to a man, we leave to 
fanatics the difficult solution of the problem. 


Letters were also received from JARED Sparks, President of Harvard 
University, Rev. Dr. ANDREW BiceLow, of Boston, and other gentle- 
men, regretting their inability to attend. 

Mr. Fircn Poors then moved that the Committee of Arrangements 
call together the Town for the purpose of expressing its gratitude to 
Mr. Peasopy for his generous gift, and it was so unanimously resolved, 
with thunders of applause. 

It was then voted to adjourn this meeting one hundred years. The 
festivities of the day were closed by a brilliant display of fireworks. 

The company at length adjourned, highly delighted with the entire 
proceedings of the day, which was literally and truly a great day for 
Danvers and all the country round. | 


183 


There were several poetical effusions prepared for the occasion. 
The songs were sung with fine effect by the Salem Glee Club, and 
elicited great applause. 


At the conclusion of Mr. Upham’s speech, Fircu Poors, Esq., rose 
and said he had, within a few weeks, discovered a manuscript, which 
he had taken the pains to copy, and which he thought might be inter- 
esting to the company. Mr. Poole declined to read it himself, and del- 
egated Rev. F. P. Appleton, of Danvers, to promulgate it for him, 
which was done in a very acceptable manner. 


GILES COREY’S DREAM. 
A BALLAD OF 1692. 


Giles Corey lay in Salem Gaol,— “Aha!” sayde I, (‘twas in my Dream,) 
A Stubborn Wizzard he: “T’ll see this altered Place, 

Dame Corey slumbered by his side,— I long at once to look upon 
A guilty Witch was she. This boasted wiser Race. 

And as they lay, one Sunday morn, I travelled North to Blind Hole Swamp,* 
All in their place of Shame, The Fields were bright and gay ; 

Giles Corey had a troubled Dream, From Skelton’s Neck* to Brooksby’s Vale,* 
And told it to his Dame. I then pursued my Way. 

* My Goodwife dear, I’ve dreamed a Dream,|_ As on I roamed in eager Haste, 
All through ye livelong Night, With ardent Hope and wishfull, 

And coming Things were shewn to me Too soon | founde my wandering Feet 
In Vision clear and bright. Quite in ye Devil’s Dishfulle.* 

I dreamed a Hundred Years were past, Here Goblins came, and I must own 
And Sixty more were gone, At first in Terrour bounde me ; 

And then I stood a living Man— al spake them fair and bade them come 
Alas! I stood alone! And gather quick arounde me. 

I was among strange Phantoms there, Full soon i saw that I had come 
No living Soul I knew, Amongst a Race of Witches ; 

And you will hardly wonder, Dame, For every Man I looked upon 
’Twas Highteen Fifty Two.” Was destitute of Breeches ! 

Quoth She, “ Dear Giles, what did you see “Bye, O Fye,” sayde Goody Corey, 
In that far distant Daye ? (And sharply spake ye Dame,) 

Your Dreaming Thoughts I long to heare, “That you should look upon them thus— 
Come tell me now I pray.” I blush for very Shame.” 

“My Dear Goodwyfe, I’ll tell my Dream, “Pray heare me out, impatient Wyfe, 
If you will patient heare, For know—these Wizzard Coons— 

How Specters strange did stare at me, Although they had no Breeches on, 
And loudly laugh and jeere. Were clothed with Pantaloons. 

At length a Ghost of pleasant mien And ah, how queer ye Women looked, 
Did listen to my Story ; ”Twould waken your Compassion 

I sayde, I’m called a Wizzard Man, To see what awkward Cloathes they wore, 
My Name is Goodman Corey, So strangely out of Fashion. 

I told him I was doomed to Dye I looked upon ye Antient Men— 
By Hanging or by Pressing ; No toothless gums had they— 

The mode—it all depended on Their aged Heads were never hald— 
My Silence or Confessing.” Their Hair was seldom gray.” 

“In Salem Village once,” he sayde, Now Martha Corey spake aloud, 
“Such Deeds they did allowe ; With most indignant Frowne— 

That dark Delusion’s had its Daye, “JT don’t believe a Word you saye 
And Men are wiser now. ; About this Danvers ‘Towne.’ 

“ You stand,” sayde he, “upon ye Spot Her Goodman sayde, with quiet Tone, 
So sadly known to Fame ; (A pleasant Speech had he,) 

No longer is it Salem called, “ Remember, Dame, I dreamed of this, 
But Danvers is its Name.” It thus appeared to me. 


* Well known localities in Danvers. 


1 saw a Man pull all his Teeth, 
It took him but a Minute: 

He oped his Mouth and put them back— 
I thought ye deuce was in it! 


A limping Man had lost a Leg, 
A wooden one had he ; 

To tell which Leg ye man had lost 
Was quite too much for me. 


I saw a man cut off a Limb, 
The Surgeon’s Knife all gory, 

But yet ye Patient felt no Paine’— 
“Tis False !’’—sayde Goody Corey. 


«T'was in my Dream I saw it, Dame, 
I saw him take ye Stitches, 

And then I knew I’d fell among 
A Race of Real Witches. 


I met a man who’d lost an Eye 
And chose to have another— 

He bought one at ye nearest Shop, 
Just like its living brother. 


I had a raging Tooth to draw, 
(To you ’twill seem a Fable,) 

I went to sleep—and then awoke 
And found it on ye Table.” 


‘‘T don’t believe a word you saye,” 
Sayde faithless Goody Corey— 
Just show this Molar ‘Tooth to me, 

And I’]] believe your story.” 


Quoth Giles unto his Wyfe againe, 
“71s thus to me it seems; ; 

How often have I told you, Dame, 
’T was in ye Land of Dreams. 


[ looked upon this Wizzard Race 
With still increasing Wonder, 

They drew ye Lightning from ye Skies 
And bottled up ye Thunder. 


They carried News by Lightning Teams, 
Made Portraits with ye Sun, 

Used Cotton for their Gunpowder, 
To Charge ye sporting Gunn. 


A magic Substance they have founde, 
And some ingenious Lubber 

Makes everything (save Consciences) 
Of Patent India Rubber. 


To light their Homes with flaming Air 
The Elements they torture ; 

And hope to get—by taking Paines— 
Their Candle Light—from Water. 


I told them that to see the World 
I had a strong Desire— 

They took me off in Vapory Cloud 
And Chariott of Fire! 


Full Forty Miles an Hour they go, 
By pores of nought but Steam ; 
And Ship 
Fase !”’ 
Sayde Goody with a Scream. 





s with Wheels go swift”— ’Tis 


184 


Quoth Giles, “ Remember, my Goodwyfe, 
*Tis a Prophetic gleam— 

I do not speak my waking Thoughts, 
I only tell my Dream. 


I pondered on these Sorceries, 
And thought them Witchcraft Sinns, 
But marvelled why, like Witchcraft new, 
They did not prick with Pinns. 


I saw these Wizzards gather round, 
To listen to a Tapping, 

In wide-mouthed Wonder swallow ali 
The Witchery of Rapping. 


It was, (I own with humble Shame,) 
A Mystery to me, 

That Souls in Bliss should come to Earth 
To say their A, B, C. 


Oh, what a Miracle Sublime ! 
Tt shews the World’s advance, 
When Spirits leave their bright abodes 
To make a Table dance! 


T’o have this awful Mystery solved 
Perhaps they may he able— 

The Faith that will a Mountain move 
Can doubtless move a ‘Table. 


Amazed I saw how calm they were 
With all this Spirit rising ; 

They only called these Magic Arts 
A kind of Magnetizing. 


So none for Witchcraft met ye Fate 
Of Pharaoh’s luckless Baker, 

Nor did they seek to drive or scourge 
A Baptist or a Quaker. 


I gat me quick to Gallows Hill, 
That fearful place to see, 

Where Witches are condemned to hang 
High on ye Gallows Tree. 


1 only saw two Shadowy Forms, 
Or Spectral Goblins rather ; 

One seemed like Him of Cloven Foot, 
The other—Cotton Mather. 


I thought to see ye Gibbett there, 
The Ladder mounted high, 

The Rope suspended from ye Beam, 
For those condemned to Dye. 


I marvelled much that there I founde 
The Sod was smooth and bare, 

No Mounds of freshly-shovelled Earth, 
No Grove of Locusts there. 


Amazed I stood and looked around, 
The Grass was living greene, 
Afar I saw ye deep blue Sea; 
A City lay between. 


I went into a Dwelling House,— 
I ransacked every oe 

I could not find a Spinning Wheel, 
Nor yet a Weaver’s Loom. 


They had no Snuffers on ye Shelf; 
The Dressers, too, had flowne ; 

No Pewter Plates, well scrubbed and neat, 
In Order brightly shone. 





No Settle by ye Kitchen Fire, 
No Sand upon ye Floor, 
And when I asked for Tinder Box | 
In Laughter they did roar. 


I went into another House— 
‘The Fireplace was a Box; 

I Jooked within, and there [-founde 
The Fuel—only Rocks ! 


| 

| 

And when I asked for Mug of Flip, | 

No Loggerheads were seen, | 

But in ye Place of Worship neare 
Were Loggerheads—I ween. 


I walked into this Meeting House 
Just as the Psalm was read; - 

The Parson had no Surplice on, 
No Wig upon his Head. 


{ 

I saw no trace of Sounding Board, 

No Hour Glass had they there | 

To prove ye Sermon two Hours long, 
And measure off ye Prayer. 


No Chorister with Tuning Fork, 
No Tythingman so grim, 
Nobody in ye Deacon Seat 
To Deacon off ye Hymn. | 


But see—within that Sacred House, 
That Place for humble Prayer, 

Averted lookes, and bitter Scorn, 
And jarring Sounds are there ! 


Ah me! to see ye stubborn Will, 
The cold and formal Dealing, 

The stern Repulse, ye Needless Pang, 
The lack of Christian Feeling! 


I asked a Shade—Why is it thus, 
That. Men, in Wilful Blindnesse, 

Are pledged to Total Abstinence 
From Milk of Human Kindnesse ? 


1 turned away with saddened Thoughts, 
And pensive Feelings ledd, 

And sought ye Place where living Dust 
Soon mingles with ye Dead. 


I looked upon ye Hillocks greene— 
‘The Winds were sweeping o’er, 

And Ghostly Shadows flitted bye, 
Of Forms beheld before. 


Remembered names were sculptured there 
On many an Antient Stone ; 

And One I saw, well grown with Moss 3 
1 looked—It was My Own ! 


A sudden thrill came o’er me then, 
Soe fearful did it seeme,— 

I shuddered once, and then awoke, 
And now you have my Dream.” 


A VISIT FROM PARSON PARRIS. 


Written for the Danvers Centennial Celebration, by Rev. J. W. Hanson, Author 
of the History of Danvers. 


One cold night of chill] December’s, 

As I sat before the embers,— 

Chance had laid a book before me 
Full of slight historic lore ;— 

Well, it need not be a mystery, 

It was only a small history— 

Author’s name I need not mention, 
Only this and nothing more. 


I was turning o’er the pictures, 

And 1 could not help my strictures 

On the blindness, and the folly | 
Of those darksome days of yore,— 

And [ came to that old mansion | 

(It has had a late expansion) 

Where began the Salem Witchcraft, | 
Which so sadly we deplore. * 


‘What a singular delusion ! 

What a state of wild confusion 

Must have filled our ancient Salem,— 
I am thankful it is o’er 5 

Parson Parris was a terror, 

The church was wrapped in error, 

And the people were all ignorant— 
May we have such curse no more! 


24 


‘What a shame that Christian preachers 
Should be no better teachers 
Than to be so much deluded, 
Or so fond of human gore, 
As to follow vicious children 
Into conduct so bewildering, 
As to hang and scourge each other, 
As they did in that dark hour.’ 


Then I thought of poor Tituba, 
(Parson Parris’ slave from Cuba,) 
Sarah Osborne, Mary Warren, 
Whose sad troubles we deplore ; 
Sarah Good, and uncle Proctor, 
Parson Burroughs—learned doctor,— 
Oh, how fiendish thus to murder— 
Thank God! the folly’s o’er. 


How much more I should have spoken, 
I don’t know,—my thoughts were broken, 
As I heard a heavy footstep 

Coming toward my study door. 
And the strangest apparition 
Flashed at once upon my vision, 
Saying—‘I am Parson Parris, 

Whose follies you deplore! 


186 


‘L have heard your lamentations, 
I confess, with little patience,’ 
Quoth the stern indignant spirit, 

‘ Of our good old days of yore; 
We were not without our failings, 
Every cent’ry has its ailings ;— 

That our own was worse than this one, 

Is a statement I ignore.’ 


‘ Worse than this one 1’ was my answer, 
‘ Let me know then, if you can sir, 
What this learned generation 
Ever does that you deplore ! 
Is not knowledge ever brightning ? 
We’ve made slaves of steam and lightning, 
Taught the Sun to paint our portraits, 
And a thousand wonders more !’ 


-‘ All the more to blame then, are you, 
Wise and skilful thus ; how dare you 
Looking back two centuries, utter 

Such a reckless slander more !— 
If with all your great advances, 
‘You have misimproved your chances, 
And still cherish greater follies, 

Here’s the thing you should deplore !’ 


-* Never mind your generalities,’ 
«Quoth I, ‘let us hear the qualities 
That our wondrous age possesses, 
Worse than that dark age of yore ;— 
‘What have we that looks so sadly, 
‘That disgraces us so badly 
‘As the Witchcraft did old Salem, 
And will do, evermore ?’ 


‘Here the parson fixed his wig on, 
-—I assure you ’twas a big one— 
And his bands he smoothed with unctien, 
And surveyed me o’er and o’er ; 
‘And looking more complacently, 
Nay—he smiled at me quite pleasantly, 
‘More so than I ever heard of 
Any Spirit doing before. 


‘Said he,—‘ We lived in Salem village 
| By our pasturage and tillage, 
A quiet, humble people 

As our country ever bore; 


‘To great wisdom no pretentions 

Did we make,—all your inventions, 

All your progress, light, and knowledge, — 
We had heard of no such lore. 


‘Then came that awful mystery, 
(You have it in your history,) 
Such an one as never met us 
In our lives or thoughts before ; 
We supposed it was the Devil, 
The Arch-author of all evil, 
And we did the best we knew of 
With the evil you deplore. 


‘But your ‘wondrous Age,’ you style it— 

Has great evils which defile it, 

Which, allowing for your progress, 
Should disgrace you evermore ; 

And of all things that are shocking, 

I declare, that Spirit Knocking 

Which of late began at Rochester, 
Is worse than all before. 


‘Chiefest humbug—greatest bie AN? 

Nonsense vain—most melancholy— 

Surely we shall not be laughed at, 
No, nor pitied any more,— 

For the future, men shall call the 

Spirit-rappings, the ‘Great Folly,’ 

Greatest, until comes another, 
Worse than all that went before.’ 


Here the Parson clapped his hat on, 
Thrust aside the chair he sat on, 
And with all his old importance 
Passed right through my study door, 
And I heard his cane go tapping, 
And his heavy footsteps rapping, 
As he took his quick departure, 
And I saw of him no more. 


But I deeply meditated 
On the truths the Parson stated, 
And I formed this resolution— 
(Vl depart from it no more ;) 
Not to blame our Salem grandmas, 
Till ourselves have worthier manners,— 
Till we banish our own witches, 
Worse than any were of yore. 


wee 


SONG. 
BY DR. ANDREW NICHOLS. 
TuneE— Yankee Doodle. 


‘A hundred years ago or more, 
When we were part of Salem, 

‘Our people grew uneasy quite, 
And what d’ye think did ail ’em? 


They fretted ’cause they taxed ’em so, 
And said ’twas downright pillage 
For merchant-folks and sailor-men 
To persecute the Willage. 


And so they sent to Gineral Court 
A large and grave Committee, 
And Gineral Court did bow to them 
And look with grace and pity. 


He passed for them the Severance Act, 
And gave the name of DANVERS, 
In honor of some titled man 
Whose sires were born in Anvers. 


So DanvERs stood a lusty youth, 
And tough to stand the weather, 
He made the Danvers China Ware, 

And tanned his upper leather. 


He also planted onion beds, 
To magnify his riches, : 
And raised the best of grafted fruit, 
And handsome, bright-eyed witches. 


His household, too, has multiplied 
A thousand for each hundred, 
And he has gained prosperity, 
At which the world has wondered. 


But where is mother Salem now ? 
—’Tis painful to consider— 

She cannot have a Select-Man, 
And so she’s left a Widder! 


Then wedded were the parishes, 
That now have spent together 
One hundred years of fair and foul, 
Calm, windy, stormy weather. 


187 


There’s sometimes been between them strife, 
’Bout which should wear the breeches, 
Which should be Husband, which the Wife, 

And how to share their riches. 


Yet in all patriotic acts, 
And noble undertakings, 

Shoulder to shoulder they have moved, 
Dismissing all heart achings. 


We’ve now in gay, good humor come 
To celebrate our union, | 

And talk of all we’ve said and done 
And suffered in communion. 


SONG. A HUNDRED YEARS. 
BY EDWIN JOCELYN. 


A Hundred Years! A Hundred Years ! 
All through its dusky track 

How dim the shadowy past appears, 
When peers the vision back. 

A Hundred Years! Up to that hour, 
Old Salem’s child were we, . 


In Jeading strings were cramp’d our pow’rs, 


Pinn’d to our Mother’s knee. 
Old Mother Salem! no time our love 
impairs— 
A child most dutiful we’ve been and 
honor your grey hours. 


A Cent’ry past we came of age— 
From thraldom broke away ; 
To celebrate it, now engage— 
Our INDEPENDENT Day. 
Though independent, we have cared 
With tender, filial heart, 
That our old mother ever shared 
Of all we had, a part. 
Old Mother Salem, &c. 


The blessed good things of the land 
To furnish her we’ve striv’n— 
Most always bow’d to her command, 
Though sauce we’ve sometimes given. 
We’ve furnished her with meat and fruit, 
With water and with fuel ;— 
Her whims have always tried to suit— 
Brought meal to make her gruel. 
Id Mother Salem, &c. 


We've made her leather stout and tough, 
Much more than she could use ; 

And sure to always do enough, 
Have made it into shoes. 

When conflagrations threaten’d her, 


TuneE— Dearest Mae.” 


We’ve run and quenched her fires ; 
In all her wants have been astir, 
And watched her least desires. 
Old Mother Salem, &c. 


When she would “ calculate right deep,” 
We furnished her with head ; 

When faint at heart and prone to weep, 
With pluck her spirits fed. 

Have brought her oft—delicious treat !—- 
(Now, Mother, “ don’t you cry,’’) 

The onion bulb, so sav’ry sweet, 
To roast, or boil, or fry. 

Old Mother Salem, &c. 


Our boys have gone to man her ships, 
And peril, oft, their lives ; 

Her boys, bewitch’d for cherry lips, 
Have stole our gals for wives. 

But time would fail to tell of half 
We’ve done from year to year— . 

Some deeds that might provoke a laugh, 
And some might draw a tear. 

Old Mother Salem, &c. 


With “ China Ware”—-pots, pitchers, pans 
Her closet shelves have filled,— 
And brought her milk in shining cans, 
And burnt her bricks to build. 
Now, though five scores of years ago, 
We just * cut loose” and free, 
A filial care we’ve tried to show,— 
Now, Mother, hav’nt we ? 
Old Mother Salem, no time our love 
impairs ;— 
A child most dutiful we’ve been, and 
honor your grey hairs. 


, 


HYMN. 


BY REV. J. W. 


HANSON. 


Tune—America. 


Thou who our sires hast led 
Over old Ocean’s bed, 
Thy guardian hand 
Did shield each exiled form 
In famine, plague, and storm, 
And give a shelter warm 
n this fair land. 


We bless Thy sacred name 

That e’en when War’s red flame 
Did light the sky, 

They scorned to humbly yield, 

But won the tented field, 

And loud their clarions pealed 
For Liberty ! 


188 


For all they nobly wrought, 

Freedom of life and thought, 
No power could tame— 

For Schools, the Pilgrims’ pride, 

And Churches far aud wide, 

Aud all their hands supplied, 
We bless ‘Thy name! 


And while our lives receive 

The rich gifts they did leave, 
Aided by Thee 

May we their virtues win, 

‘Their scorn of wrong and sin, 

And seek without—within, 
Truth—Liberty. 





God of Eternity! 
Tho’ every Century 
To thee appears 
A moment's transient gleam,-— 
To our brief lives doth seem 
How wide and deep the stream 
Of rolling years. 


On this Centennial Day 

We come, our prayers to pay, 
Great God, to Thee! 

May we Thy holy name 

Adore—exalt—proclaim— 

Then shall our Country’s fame 
Immortal be. 


A SONG FOR OUR FATHERS. 


BY EDWIN JOCELYN. © 
Arr—“ 4 Song for our Banner.” 


A Song for our Fathers! ‘Their mem’ry | Though pleasures and lux’ries the land to us 


awakes 
In our bosoms a thrilling emotion ; 
Each pulse of the heart of their virtue par- 
takes, 
When we think of their steadfast devo- 
tion 5 
From the Truth of their God, from the Love 
of their Land, 
The iron of their souls never yielded ;— 
They were pure in the heart, they were strong 
in the hand 
When the pray’r or the sword-blade they 
~ wielded. 


A Song for our Fathers! Though green are 
our fields, 

Where the rough and cold soil they first 
parted ,— 


yields, 
’Tis the fruit of the stout and true-hearted. 
Whatever adorns, whatever gives ease 
Or comfort, their industry planted ; 
O then, by their children, ’mid the blessings 
ofthese, 
Be their praises with gratitude chanted. 


A Song for our Fathers! They sleep their 
long rest, 
While we on the Past now are dwelling ; 
Its pages their-virtues ever newly attest,— 
With birth-pride our bosoms are swelling. 
May that wnion of faith, of patriot love, 
Of enduring, unshrinking endeavor 
Which upheld them below, and which point- 
ed above, 
Rule the hearts of their children forever. 





PROCEEDINGS AT THE SCHOOL PAVILION. 


The arrangements for the Public Schools were made and carried out 
under the direction of the following gentlemen :— | 


Wm. H. Lirtte, | 
Amos MERRILL, 
E. B. Hinxtey, 

i Wma. L. Weston, 


Tuomas HINnKLeEy, 
Aaron C. Proctor, 
Henry Fowter. 


The procession of schools, constituting a most beautiful spectacle, 


proceeded to the Crowningshield estate, near Buxton’s Hill. 


Here a 


spacious ‘ tent”’ had been erected for their special accommodation, and 
tables, bountifully loaded, afforded a pleasing reception to the fatigued 
and exhausted pupils. The sight within the tent, after the procession 
had entered, was truly imposing and gratifying. The assembly of 
about 1500 of the youth of Danvers, all neatly and appropriately attired, 
was in itself a very attractive sight, and it was most pleasing to the 
spectators, and highly creditable to the pupils and teachers that the 


189 


deportment of all was truly exemplary and commendable. No rude- 
ness and no impropriety were observable, but order and decorum pre- 
vailed throughout the tent. ‘ 

WM. R. PUTNAM, Esq., a member of the School Committee, 
presided within the tent, and after the physical wants of the pupils had 
become supplied, the intellectual received attention. After a few ap- 
propriate remarks, Mr. Putnam introduced CHARLES NORTHEND, 
Esq., the newly appointed Town Superintendent of Schools, and J. D. 
PHILBRICK, Esq., Principal of the Quincy School, Boston, who made 
very eloquent and interesting addresses to the pupils. They spoke at 
some length, and were listened to with earnest attention and interest. 
It is a source of regret that a copy of their excellent remarks cannot 
be obtained for insertion here, as we are confident they would be per- 
used with much interest. 

The following sentiments were offered and read by Mr. AUGUSTUS 
MUDGE, a member of the School Committee. 


May we never be late when the first performance or the last is served up. 

The Female Teachers of Danvers—No separatists, yet fearful agitators to 
the minds of men, and swift incendiaries to their hearts. 

The President of this School Festival—Like his fearless namesake, invin- 
cible in every enterprise. - 

ao and Danvers—Mother and daughter ; mutually proud of their relation- 
ship. 

The Prudential Committees of Danvers—Fathers of all the little ones, may 
they not themselves be little in their office, but may they be large of heart and 
liberal of hand in dispensing blessings to the flocks under them. 

Our High Schools—Their true position, as to-day, in the front ranks. 

The Church and the Schoo!—The former prepared our ancestors for estab- 
lishing civil and religious liberties ; may the latter lead our children to per- 
petuate them. ; 

The day we celebrate—May its history form a bright page in the celebra- 
tion of June 16th, 1952. 


“To the third sentiment, WM. R. PUTNAM, Esq., briefly and appro- 
priately replied as follows :— 

Children of the Public Schools of Danvers: Our lesson to-day is 
history,—not the general history of the world, but the particular history 
of our own town. Whether we contemplate the character of its earli- 
est settlers, the active part which its inhabitants took in achieving our 
national independence, or its continued prosperity, we find much that 
is worthy of our attention and admiration. 

The scenes and representations which we have this day witnessed 
seem to give to past times and events a presence and reality as though 
they were in fact our own. 

This is your historical schoolhouse,—not indeed furnished, like your 
common school rooms, with blackboards, upon which to write the les- 
sons of the day. But we would engrave the events of this celebration, 
in ineffaceable lines, upon the inmost tablets of your memories, so that 
in your future years you may not only recall them with pleasure, but 
also transmit them to other generations. May you be laudably stimu- 
lated, by what you have to-day witnessed, so to act the part you may 
take in the events of the coming century that it shall contribute to the 
attractive points of the next centennial. 


190 


And now, in behalf of my associates, the members of the School 
Committee, I would tender sincere thanks to the instructors of our 
schools for the noble efforts they have made to contribute to the inter- 
est of this occasion, and to the pupils of the several schools for the 
commendable cheerfulness and propriety with which they have this 
day performed their parts. May each and all return to your respective 
spheres of labor with new zeal, bright hopes, strong determination,— 
and though you may not be present at the recurrence of this festival in 
1952, may you be nobly and honorably represented by the works 
which will live after you have passed away. 


Owing to the oppressive heat of the day, the tediousness of the 
marching, and the crowded state of the tent, it was thought prudent to 
abridge the exercises of the schools ; otherwise we should be able to 
report many other interesting addresses. 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF THE 


TOWN OF DANVERS, 


IN RELATION TO 


THE DONATION OF GEORGE PEABODY, ESQ., 


OF LONDON, 


Agreeably to the vote adopted at the table, on the day of the Cen- 
tennial Celebration, the Committee of Arrangements called a meeting 
of the citizens of the town, by legal notice, to act upon the Communi- 
cation of Mr. Peabody,* the proceedings of which meeting, certified by 
the Clerk of the town, are here presented. 


At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of the Town of Danvers, quali- 
fied to vote in town affairs, holden at Union Hall, in the South Par- 
ish in said town, on Monday, the twenty-eighth day of June, in the 
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two. 


On motion made by John W. Proctor, it was 

Voted, That the Centennial Committee be authorized and instructed 
to cause such a publication of the papers and transactions connected 
with the Centennial Celebration, as, in their judgment, the interest and 
credit of the town demands, and a copy thereof to be furnished to each 
family in town. 

The original communication from George Peabody, Esq., was read 
by the Moderator ; and™wfterwards, Dr. Andrew Nichols read the reso- 
lutions which had been prepared, and submitted the same to the town. 
On motion made, it was 

Voted unanimously, That the whole of said resolves, which have 
been submitted by Dr. Nichols, and separately acted upon, be adopted 
by the town. 


Resolves, as submitted by Dr, Andrew Nichols, and adopted by the 
Town. 

Resolved, That we, the legal voters of the town of Danvers, in legal 
meeting assembled, accept, with deep emotions of gratitude, the mu- 
nificent gift of GEorcE PEaBopy, Esq., of London, of Twenty 
TxHovsanp Dotuars, for the promotion of knowledge and morality 
among us; and we, with due sense of its importance, to ourselves and 
to those who are to succeed us, accept the offered trust, and bind our- 
selyes to faithfully, ardently and constantly endeavor to fulfil the wishes 


* See page 141. 


192 


and accomplish the noble purpose of the generous donor, and to enjoin 
on our successors a like performance of the same sacred duty. 

Resolved, That we now proceed to the choice of a committee of 
twelve persons to receive and have in charge the said donation, for the 
purpose of establishing a Lyceum for the delivery of Lectures, upon 
such subjects, exclusive of sectarian theology and party politics, as may 
be designated by a committee of the town, free to all the inhabitants, 
under such rules as said committee may, from time to time, enact ; 
and to establish a Library, which shall also be free to the inhabitants, 
under the direction of the committee. 

Resolved, That the members of said committee shall exercise all the 
authority and perform all the duties contemplated by the donor; and 
shall hold office by the following tenure, viz.:—T'wo of the twelve 
shall hold the office until the annual mecting in 1858 ; two until 1857 ; 
two until 1856; two until 1855; two until 1854; two until 1853; or, 
in all cases, until others be chosen and accept the trust in their stead. 
And it shall be the duty of said committee, as soon as may be after 
their organization, to determine, either by agreement or by lot, who of 
this number shall hold the office for the several times named, and com- 
municate the same to the clerk of the town, whose duty it shall be to 
enter the same on the records. And it shall be the duty of the select- 
men to order, in every warrant for the annual town meeting hereafter, 
the inhabitants to choose or give in their votes for two persons, to be- 
come members of said committee, for the term of six years, in the 
place of those whose term of office at that time expires ; and to fill all 
vacancies caused by death, resignation, or removal from the town. 

Resolved, 'That the aforesaid Committee of Trustees appoint annu- 
ally, from the citizens of the town at large, another committee, who 
shall select books for the library—designate the subjects for lectures— 
procure lecturers—enact rules and regulations, both in regard to the 
Jectures and the library, and perform all such other duties as the com- 
mittee shall assign to them; and they shall make a full report of their 
doings to the Trustees, semiannually, viz., on or before the second 
Mondays in February and August. 

Resolved, That the Committee of Trustees be also required to make 
a full report of their own doings, and the doings of the committee by 
them appointed, at the annual town meeting previous to the choice of 
members of said committee, above provided for. 

Resolved, That it shall be the duty of said committee to correspond 
with the benevolent donor while he lives, and, in all their doings, pay 
all due regard to his expressed wishes. 

On motion made by A. A. Abbott, E'sq., it was 

Voted, That the Institution, established by this donation, be called 
and known as the PEABODY INSTITUTE, and that this name be 
inscribed, in legible characters, upon the front of the building to be 
erected, that, in future years, our children may be reminded of their 
fathers’ benefactor, and that strangers may read the name of him, of 
whom Danyers will always be proud to claim as her son. 

On motion of Mr. Fitch Poole, it was | 

Voted, That our venerable and respected fellow-citizen, Capt. SyYL- 
VESTER Procror, be invited in behalf of the town, and in accordance 


193 


with the special request of his early and constant friend, Mr. Peabody, 
to assist in laying the corner stone of the proposed edifice. 

On motion made by the same gentleman, it was 

Voted unanimously, That the Board of Trustees, chosen this day, 
forward a certified copy of the proceedings of this meeting to Mr. Pea- 
body. 

ea motion made by William H. Little, it was 

Voted unanimously, That all the communications received from 
George Peabody, Esq., of London, be recorded. 

The following gentlemen were elected Trustees by ballot :— 


1. R. 8S. Dantrezs, 7. Francis BAKER, 
2. E. W. Upton, 8. Expen Sutton, 
3. S. P. Fow er, 9. W. L. Weston, 
4. JosEpH Oscoop, 10. JoserH Poor, 

5. Mites Oszorn, 11. A. F. Crarx, 

6. Esen Kine, 12. Josery 8. Brack. 


True Extracts from the Town Records. Attest, 
Joseru Suep, Town Clerk. 





GEORGE PEABODY. 


In closing their account of the very interesting Centennial Festival 
of June last, the Committee feel that they cannot perform a more 
pleasing duty, and, at the same time, confer more gratification upon 
their fellow-citizens, than by presenting some particulars in the history 
of their townsman, whose timely and munificent donation, thus grace- 
fully bestowed, added so much to * the pleasure of the occasion.” 

In the performance of this duty, they are aware of its extreme del- 
icacy, and, that in the endeavor to gratify an intense and laudable 
curiosity on the part of their fellow-citizens, and to hold up to our 
youth, an example of nobleness and worth for their imitation, they may, 
unwittingly, trespass on“private feelings. On the other hand, our gen- 
erous benefactor has arrived at such an eminence in the commercial 
world, and his name is so widely known in both hemispheres, that his 
history has become, in a measure, public property. The Committee 
can only say, that they will use their best discretion in the use of their 
materials, and present such facts only as are known to be authentic. 

Our fellow-citizen, George Peabody, now a resident of London, was 
born in the South Parish, in Danvers, February 18th, 1795.* At the 


* Nehemiah Cleaveland; Esq., in his excellent Address at the Topsfield Bi- 
Centennial Celebration, deriving his information mainly from C. M. Endicott, 
Esq., of Salem, thus speaks of the origin of the Peabody family in America: 

“ For a very early period in the history of this town, the Peabody name has 
been identified with it. Thanks to the spirit of family pride or of antiquarian 
curiosity, great pains have recently been taken to dig out the roots and follow 
out the branches of the old Peabody tree. Old, it may well be called, since it 
has already attained to a growth of nearly two thousand years. Boadie, it 

25 


194 


early age of eleven years, (May 4th, 1807,) he was placed in the gro- 
cery store of Capt. Sylvester Proctor, where he remained about four 
years, receiving from Mr. Proctor and his excellent lady, (a sister 
of Rev. Daniel Poor, D. D., the devoted Missionary to Ceylon,) pa- 
rental kindness, and such instructions and precepts, as, ‘* by endeavor- 
ing to practise which, in after-life,” he remarks, ‘I attribute much of 
my success.” 

In 1810, in the hope of a better situation, he left Capt. Proctor, 
but the embargo and expected war with England rendered the time 
most unpropitious for obtaining employment in any mercantile pursuit. 
That year, therefore, was principally spent in Thetford, Vt., with his 
maternal grand-parents. This was his only time of comparative leisure 
since his eleventh year. 


seems, was the primeval name. He was a gallant British chieftain, who came 
to the rescue of his queen, Boadicea, when ‘bleeding from the Roman rods.’ 
From the disastrous battle in which she lost her crown and life, he fled to the 
Cambrian mountains. There his posterity lived and became the terror of the 
lowlands. Thus it was that the term Pea, which means ‘ mountain,’ was pre- 
fixed to BoaprE, which means ‘man.’ There was a Peabody, it seems, among 
the Knights of the Round Table, for the name wazs first registered, with due 
heraldic honors, by command of King Arthur himself. 

*‘ At the period when the business transactions of this town begin to appear 
on record, Lieut. Francis Pabody (this was the orthography of the name at that 
period) was evidently the first man in the place for capacity and influence. 
He had emigrated from St. Albans, in Hertfordshire, England, about seventeen 
miles from London, in 1635, and settled at Topsfield, in 1657, where he re- 
mained until his death in 1698. His wife was a daughter of Reginald Foster, 
whose family, Mr. Endicott informs us, in his genealogy of the Peabodys, is 
honorably mentioned by Sir Walter Scott, in Marmion and the Lay. 

“Of this large family, three sons settled in Boxford, and two remained in 
Topsfield. From these five patriarchs have come, it is said, all the Peabodys 
in this country. Among those of this name who have devoted themselves to 
the sacred office, the Rev. Oliver Peabody, who died at Natick, almost a hun- 
dred years ago, is honorably distinguished. ‘Those twin Peabodys, (now, alas! 
no more,) William Bourne Oliver and Oliver William Bourne, twins not in age 
only but in genius and virtue, learning and piety, will long be remembered 
with admiration and regret. The Rev. David Peabody, of this town, who died 
while a Professor in Dartmouth College, deserves honorable mention. A kins- 
man of his, also of Topsfield, is at this moment laboring, a devoted missionary, 
in the ancient land of Cyrus. Rev. Andrew T. Peabody, of Portsmouth, and 
Rev. Ephraim Peabody, of Boston, are too well and favorably known to require 
that I should more than allude to them. Professor Silliman, of Yale College, 
is descended from a Peabody. 

“The Peabody name has abounded in’ brave and patriotic spirits. Many of 
them served in the French and the Revolutionary wars. One of them fell 
with Wolfe and Montcalm, on the plains of Abraham. Another assisted at the 
capture of Ticonderoga and of Louisberg, and in the siege of Boston. Another 
was among the most gallant of the combatants on Bunker Hill. Another com- 
manded a company in the Continental army, and sent his sons to the army as 
fast as they became able. One more, Nathaniel Peabody, of Atkinson, N. H., 
commanded a regiment inthe Revolutionary war, and subsequently represented 
his state in the Continental Congress. 

“In Medicine and Law, the reputation of the name rests more, ‘perhaps, on 
the quality than the number of practitioners. In Commerce, too, this family 


may boast of at least one eminent example—an architect of a princely fortune. 
I need not name him.” 


195 


In April, 1811, he was received as a clerk in the dry-goods store of 
his eldest brother, David Peabody, of Newburyport, who had himself 

but just attained his majority, and was yet hardly established in busi- 
ness. A few weeks subsequently, his father was very suddenly re- 
moved by death ; and soon after, the great fire in Newburyport took 
place, by which his brother was a sufferer and failed in business, thus 
throwing the younger brother again out of employment. He now 
found himself, at the age of sixteen, suddenly and unexpectedly an 
orphan, without funds, without a situation, and without influential 
friends ; and the prospects of the times as gloomy as can well be im- 
agined. 

“On the 4th of May, 1812, not finding employment, he left New 
England with his uncle, Gen. John Peabody, who had been unfortunate 
in business, and who was, at this time, in the most discouraging cir- 
cumstances. They sailed from Newburyport in the brig Fame, Capt. 
Davis, for Georgetown, D. C. 

John Peabody established himself in Georgetown, D. C., but owing 
to his pecuniary position, the business was conducted in the name of 
his nephew, and the management of it chiefly devolved on him. Here 
he remained about two years, faithfully and industriously performing 
those duties and services, for which he could have the prospect of little, 
if any, remuneration. 

About this time, it having occurred to him, that his name being used 
in the transaction of the business, he might be responsible for its lia- 
bilities when he should become of age, he freed himself from his en- 
gagements to his uncle, to whom his services were necessary ; but with 
many painful feelings, that his duty to himself compelled him to this 
course. 

Soon after this, and before he was nineteen years old, a wealthy 
merchant (Mr. Elisha Riggs, now of New York) proposed receiving 
him as a partner in the dry-goods trade ; Mr. Riggs finding capital, 
and Mr. Peabody taking the entire management of the business. 

He was, at this time, (as will be recollected by those of us who saw 
him on his brief visits to his native town,) quite six feet in height, of 
manly form and proportigns, and premature care and anxiety had given 
to his countenance the expression of maturer years. His partner, there- 
fore, after the writings of copartnership were drawn, was surprised to 
learn, that his contract had been made with a boy. He was, however, 
kind enough to forgive the fault, which had been so honestly confessed, 
and which Time would so quickly amend, and the connection proved a 
most fortunate one for both parties. 

The house of Riggs & Peabody was removed to Baltimore in 1815, 
and other houses were established in Philadelphia and New York in 
1822, the partnership continuing in terms of five years each, for fifteen 
years; several other individuals occupying, successively, subordinate 
situations in the firm. 

In 1829, Mr. Elisha Riggs retired from the firm, and his nephew, 
Mr. Samuel Riggs, was admitted, by which Mr. Peabody became sen- 
ior partner, and the house became Peabody, Riggs & Co. 

During the preceding fifteen years, Mr. Peabody’s labors were ex- 
cessive. His annual collecting excursions, occupying usually six or 





196 


seven weeks, were performed on horseback, through the wildest regions 
of Maryland and Virginia, and in the most inclement season of the 
year. The burden of the extensive operations of the house rested ° 
principally on him; and, from his earliest youth, the cares and per- 
plexities, the struggles and disappointments, which usually advance but 
with mature manhood, had been drawing forth and perfecting those 
peculiar traits of character, of which his childhood gave promise, and 
for which, as a man, he has been so highly distinguished. 

And here, might we invade the sanctuary of his early home, and 
the circle of his immediate connections, we could light around the 
vouthful possessor of a few hundreds of dollars,—the avails of the most 
severe and untiring efforts,—a brighter halo, than his elegant hospitali- 
ties, his munificent donations, or his liberal. public charities, now shed 
over the rich London Banker. 

We will venture to state, in general terms, that, before he was twenty 
years old, he had shared his limited means with his widowed mother 
and orphan brothers and sisters, and, at the age of twenty-four, he 
voluntarily charged himself with their entire support; educating the 
latter, and fulfilling to them the part of the most indulgent parent. 
For their sakes, he was willing to forego the attractive but expensive 
pleasures, which a city residence continually presented him, and cheer- 
fully practised any self-denial, that he might bring them forward to 
respectability and happiness. 

His first voyage to Europe was made in November, 1827, for the 
purchase of goods; the firm having for some time previous imported 
their own supplies. During the next ten years, he crossed the Atlantic 
several times, and was entrusted with important financial negotiations, 
for the government of his adopted state. He embarked again for 
England, February 1, 18387, and has not since been in his native 
country. 

In July, 1843, he retired from the ‘ firm of Peabody, Riggs & Co., 
New York and Baltimore,” and established himself in London, where 
he has since continued, in a very extensive commercial and banking 
business. 

It has been asked, ‘‘ What is the secret of his success ?”? We answer, | 
(in the language of one most conversant with his business life,) ‘* He 
has entered into no giant speculations, nor, in general, have his gains 
been disproportionate ; but he has realized large profits from his legiti- 
mate and extensive commercial pursuits, and from investments in 
various stocks of the United States, when generally discredited by the 
public ; his entire confidence in the integrity of the defaulting states, 
and in the ultimate payment of their debts, never deserting him in the 
gloomiest period of their history.”’ 

Having decided on a certain course, he has always been remarkable 
for the power of bending all his energies of mind and of body, tothe one 
object of pursuit. It was thus, when, at the age of sixteen, he entered 
on his chosen profession. He, then laid down for himself certain rules, 
involving the principles of justice, integrity, good faith and punctuality, 
which he considered, not only as morally binding on himself, but, as 


due to his fellow-men, and indispensable to his reputation as an hon- 
orable merchant.” | 


197 


A strict and unwavering adherence to these principles in every ex- 
tremity, and the blessing of Providence on a course of patient, severe, 
unremitting and persevering industry, with habits of economy as regards 
himself, and of uncalculating liberality towards all, who have needed 
his assistance, constitute, we believe, the great secret, by which he has 
attained to the pecuniary and social position, which he now occupies. 

His habits of punctuality have been proverbial. He recently stated 
to an intimate friend, that in all his business life, he had never failed to 
meet a pecuniary engagement. 

Far seeing in matters relating to his peculiar calling, of long expe- 
rience, and of acute observation, he has been able to judge correctly 
‘ of causes and results, and, generally, to foresee alarming crises in 
season to prepare for them. In August, 1836, in conversation with the 
friend above alluded to, he remarked, ‘I am confident, that the rage 
for speculation, which has characterized the last two or three years, 
must produce disastrous results; accordingly, I have written to my 
partners to keep everything snug, and, without reference to new sales 
or new profits, to get in outstanding debts, and be prepared for the 
emergency.” 

How far his predictions were well founded, the dreadful panic of 
1837 soon proved. The consequence of this caution was, that he 
passed through that fiery ordeal unscathed, and had the satisfaction to 
aid many others to do the same. 

His exertions, however, have not always been crowned with equal 
success. In common with other commercial houses, he has sustained 
many severe losses, some of them doubly aggravating, being the result 
of treachery or ingratitude in those, in whom he had confided, or whom 
he had particularly obliged. 

From these losses, (says one,) although greatly sensitive to the first 
shock, he has arisen with an unprecedented elasticity of resolution, 
and has redoubled his efforts, until every deficiency has been made up. 

In the failure of American credit, he was deeply interested person- 
ally, and, with other Americans abroad, shared the mortification which 
was felt on account of that disastrous event. His position as an 
American and a merchant, in the metropolis of Great Britain, was at 
this period, a most trying*he ; but, in the darkest hour of his country’s 
adversity, he stood up manfully for her defence. His letters on “ Re- 
pudiation,” and his efforts to sustain, or to restore American credit 
abroad, constitute the brightest page in his history. For these efforts, 
he is justly entitled to the deepest gratitude of his countrymen, espe- 
cially those of his adopted state. Maryland has acknowledged her 
obligations to him in a public and graceful manner, as honorable to 
herself, as it must be grateful to the feelings of him, who felt so keenly 
for her pecuniary credit, and did so much to protect it. 

The business relations of Mr. Peabody are, at the present time, very 
extensive and complicated. He attends personally to all its most im- 
portant transactions, and to many of its details, We have been in- 
formed, that he devotes, on an average, fourteen hours out of every 
twenty-four to business. 

With all these demands upon his time, he is always ready with a 
warm greeting to his friends from this side of the Atlantic, and, by the 


198 


public and social assemblies of his countrymen, with invited British 
residents of distinction, he has done much to promote a kindly feeling 
between the two countries. 


The following extracts, from an account published in London, of 
the proceedings at the Parting Dinner given by Mr. Peabody, will be 
found interesting to his townsmen :— 


On the 27th of October, 1851, Mr. Grorce Prazsopy, of London, , 
gave a parting dinner, at the London Coffee House, to the American 
gentlemen connected with the Exhibition. ‘The guests consisted of 
the Americans known to be in London, and also of many English 
gentlemen. 

The hall was appropriately and beautifully decorated, under the 
direction of Mr. Stevens and Mr. Somerby. Behind the chair, was 
placed Hayter’s full length portrait of Her Masesty; on one side of 
which was Stuart’s WasHincron, and on the other, Patten’s portrait 
of H. R. H. Prince Ansert, each the size of life. The national 
ensigns of Great Britain and the United States, appropriately united 
by a wreath of laurel, were draped about these paintings; and pen- 
nants, kindly furnished by the Admiralty for the occasion, completed 
the effect. 

The chair was taken by Mr. Peazopy, at 7 o’clock. Mr. Davis 
officiated as first Vice Chairman; and the side tables were presided 
over by Mr. Stevens and Col. Lawrence, respectively, as second and 
third Vice Chairmen. 

The elegant and sumptuous dinner fully sustained the high reputation 
of Mr. Lovegrove’s house. 

After the cloth was removed and grace said, Mr. Harker, the toast 
master, announced the Loving Cup* in the following words :— 


“The Right Honorable Earl of Granville, His Excellency the 
American Minister, His Excellency Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, The ~ 
Hon. Robert Walker, The Governor of the Bank of England, Sir 
Joseph Paxton, Sir Charles Fox, and Gentlemen all,—Mr. Prapopy 
drinks to you in a loving cup and bids you all a hearty welcome !” 


* The Loving Cup, which went round the tables, was one which Mr. Pea- 
body had just received from a friend in America. Its form may be seen in 
the wood cut annexed, It is made of oak, from the homestead of Mr. Pea- 
body’s ancestors, at Danvers, near Salem, Massachusetts. It is richly inlaid 
with silver, and bears the Family arms and the following inscription: “ Francis 
PraBopy, oF SaLem, TO GEorGE PEasBopy, or Lonpon. 1851.” 

[By the kindness of Col. Francis Peabody, of Salem, the Committee are 
enabled, at their solicitation, to obtain a representation of a massive Silver 
Loving Cup, which he received from Mr. Peabody in 1850, as a family as well 
as international memorial. Itis highly wrought, having embossed figures in alto 
relievo on one side, and on the other, the inscription, “Groner Prasopy, oF 
Lonpon, To Francis Peazopy, or Satem. 1850.”] 


199 


The loving cup was then passed round in the usual manner, and due 
honor done to this ancient custom. 

The dessert having been served, Mr. PEazpopy rose and announced 
successively the three following toasts, each being prefaced by a neat 
and appropriate speech :— 

“THe QureEN,—God bless her !”’ 

‘© Tur PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,—God bless him !” 

‘The health of His Royal Highness Prince Apert, ALBERT 
Prince of Wates, and the rest of the Roya, Famitny.” 

These toasts were received with the greatest enthusiasm, and with 
the customary honors, the band playing God Save the Queen and Hail 
Columbia. 

Appropriate and excellent speeches were made by Mr. F. P. Corzin, 
of Virginia, Mr. Abbott Lawrence, Earl Granville, Mr. Robert J. 
Walker, Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, Mr. Davis, Mr. Riddle, and Mr. 
Stansbury. 

Mr. Bates, of the house of Baring & Brothers, then toasted— 

** Mr. Toomas Hanxey, Jr., the Governor of the Bank of England.” 

The Governor, on rising to reply, was loudly cheered, and concluded 
his speech as follows :— 

Allusion has been made to rival feelings, and may I not give a 
strong proof that none such exist in this city, excepting in that generous 
rivalry, which is the truest stimulus to exertion, when I remind you 
that the Gentleman who has done me the honor to propose my health, 
and who, I am sure, will allow me to call him my friend, is an Ameri- 
can, though standing at the head of one of the largest and most widely 
known English firms? ‘The house of Barings is known not only in 
Europe and America, but in every part of the globe; and Mr. Batss, 
the present acting head of that well known and respected house, is, as 
I have before observed, an American. He alluded to my connection 


_ with America, a connection which I ever regard with feelings of the 


greatest satisfaction; for I have been thereby thrown frequently into 
communication with Americans, and I have never received from them 
anything but friendship and kindness. 

I have twice visited, and, travelled in, the United States. On the 
last occasion, in 1834, 1 met a gentleman on board the sailing packet 
with whom I made acquaintance, and whose acquaintance I have kept 
to this day ; that gentleman was Mr. Preazpopy, who has been kind 
enough to invite me to witness his reception of his countrymen in this 
truly hospitable manner. 1 am proud to consider him as a colleague 
and brother merchant of London: and I am not the less proud of it 
when I hear from the lips of so many of his own countrymen, as I 
have done on this day, that they consider his high and unimpeachable 
character, his abilities, his integrity and his industry, as great an orna- 
ment to their country, as we are glad to consider him to ours. Long 
may he enjoy the fruits of his well earned independence, and long 
may he continue equally respected on both sides of the Atlantic. 

The Governor sat down amid prolonged cheering. 

Lorp GRANVILLE then rose again, and stated that he had obtained 
permission to say a few words more, and that he should make the 
opportunity available for proposing a toast, the propriety of which all 


200° 


would recognize, and which he was assured would be welcomed with 
unequalled enthusiasm. His Lordship concluded a very truthful and 
graceful tribute to Mr. Peasopy, by alluding to the prominent and 
distinguished part which that gentleman had taken in advancing the 
interests of the Exhibition, and to the still more prominent position 
which he had achieved for himself by his unwearied efforts to promote 
the happiness of Americans in this country, and to foster a kind and 
brotherly feeling between Englishmen and Americans. His Lordship 
also alluded particularly to the regret which he had experienced at 
having been unable to attend the superb féte given by Mr. PEABopy on 
the last anniversary of American Independence, and characterized that 
féte as marking an auspicious epoch in the history of international 
feeling as between England and America. In conclusion, he proposed 
‘The health of Mr. Peasopy.” 


After the prolonged and reiterated cheering with which this senti- 
ment was received had subsided, Mr. PEasopy rose and said : 


My Lord and Gentlemen,—I may most sincerely assure you, that 
my feeling, at the present moment, is one of profound humility. 
Gratifying as is this spontaneous expression of your approbation and 
regard, and grateful as I am to the noble Lord, and to you all, for your 
undeserved kindness, I feel sensible of my entire inability to convey to 
you, in suitable language, the acknowledgments which I would wish to 
make; and I feel this humility and my inability the more strongly, 
after listening to the eloquent speeches which have been made this 
evening. 

Gentlemen,—I have lived a great many years in this country without 
weakening my attachment to my own land, but at the same time too 
long not to respect and honor the institutions and people of Great Brit- 
ain; it has, therefore, been my constant desire, while showing such 
attentions as were in my power to my own countrymen, to promote, to 
the very utmost, kind and brotherly feelings between Englishmen and 
Americans. (Cheers.) 

The origin of this meeting was my desire to pay respect to those of 
my countrymen who had been connected with the Great Exhibition of’ 
1851, and to pay a parting tribute to their skill, ingenuity, and origi- 
nality, before their departure to the United States ; and I cannot but 
feel that I have been extremely fortunate in bringing together so large 
a number of our countrymen on the occasion. You will understand, 
also, that I feel extreme gratification at the presence of our kind- 
hearted’ Minister, and of those English Gentlemen whose social and’ 
official rank, no less than their connection either with our country, or 
with the Exhibition, renders them fitting representatives of national. 
feeling, and entitles them to our respect, and to my most grateful ac-. 
knowledgments. (Hear.) 

The importance of maintaining kindly feelings between the people: 
of our respective countries, has been the principal theme of the elo-' 
quent speeches which we have heard this evening, and particularly that 
of Sir Henry Lytron Buiwer; but although, in some measure, a 
repetition of what has been so'much better said by him, I cannot for- 


201 


bear making a few remarks on the same subject., There has recently 
been much excitement in America in reference to the! maintenance of 
the Union of the States; an excitement that has placed the Union on a 
firmer basis than ever. I have felt, that, important to us as’ is that bond 
of union, there is another, which is no less important to the whole civ- 
ilized world ; I refer to the moral and friendly union between Great 
Britain and the United States. (Loud cheers.) May both these unions 
still continue and gather strength with their gathering years. 

Gentlemen,—Many of you, whom I see here to-night, will soon be 
on the ocean, homeward bound, and there are many whom I may not 
again have the pleasure of meeting before their departure ; but if I do 
not meet you all again on this side of the Atlantic, I trust that I may 
do so at some future day on the other side. After such gratifying 
proofs of your friendly feeling towards me, I am persuaded that your 
kindness will induce you to give me in your native land a warmer, but 
not more sincere, welcome, than it has been in my power to give to 
you here. I conclude by again offering you my warmest thanks. 


This speech was received with inexpressible cordiality ; and at its 
close, the company rose and greeted Mr. PEaBopy with “ three times 
three”? cheers and ‘‘.one more,” with a heartiness not to be surpassed. 


The superb féte referred to in the speech of Lord Granville is thus 
described in the London Illustrated News, which has a fine engraving 
of the Hall at Almack’s, where the entertainment took place, with the 
decorations, é&c. :— 


Granp ENTERTAINMENT To THE AMERICAN MinisTEr.—A superb 
entertainment was given by Mr. George Peabody, the eminent Ameri- 
can merchant, to many hundreds of his countrymen and our own, at 
Willis’s Rooms, ‘‘ to meet the American Minister and Mrs. Lawrence,” 
on Friday, July 4th, the anniversary of American Independence. 

Mr. Peabody selected this anniversary for this immense gathering of 
Englishmen and Americans, for the avowed purpose of showing that 
all hostile feeling in regard to the occurrences which it calls to mind 
has ceased to have any place in the breasts of the citizens of either of 
the two great Anglo-Saxon nations, and that there is no longer anything 
to prevent them from meeting together on that day, or on any other 
occasion, in perfect harmony and brotherhood. 

The superb suite of ‘* Almack’s” rooms gave ample space for the 
guests. The walls were richly festooned with white drapery, entwined 
by wreaths of flowers, interspersed at intervals with the flags of Eng- 
land and America blended and interchanged. 

At one end and the other of the spacious ball-room, were placed por-. 
traits of Queen Victoria and the illustrious Washington, each canopied 
with the combined flags of the two countries ; and in various parts of 
the rooms were placed busts of her Majesty, the Prince Consort, Wash-. 
ington, Franklin, and other distinguished persons of either country. 
The superb chandeliers were decorated with flowers to the number of 





202 


many hundreds and each lady was presented, on her entrance to the 
room, jwith a choice bouquet. 

The guests began to arrive about nine o’clock, and by half-past nine 
the seats appropriated for the auditory of the concert (with which the 
entertainment commenced) were entirely filled. The concert itself 
was of a high order ; and when we name Catherine Hayes, Cruvelli, 
Lablache, and Gardoni as the performers, it is almost needless to add 
that it passed off most brilliantly. After the concert, the seats were 
removed, and the spacious ball-room was cleared for the dancers, who 
commenced dancing at about eleven o’clock. Up to this hour, the 
guests had continued to arrive. At about half-past eleven, the Duke of 
Wellington arrived, and was met in the reception-room by Mr. Pea- 
body, who conducted his Grace through the ball-room to the dais, 
where he was welcomed by the American Minister. The band played 
the accustomed recognition of ‘See, the Conquering Hero comes.” 
But the enthusiasm did not reach its height, until ‘the Duke,” with 
Mr, Peabody and the American Minister on either side of him, took his 
seat in the centre of the dais, and directly under the portrait of Wash- 
ington, when the assembly gave a prolonged burst of cheering. After 
this had subsided, dancing recommenced, and continued until avery 
late hour, interrupted only by the intervention of an elegant supper. 

The Duke of Wellington remained until past midnight ; and many 
other of the more distinguished visitors remained until the breaking up 
of the party. 

The whole of the ground-floor of Willis’s Rooms was devoted to the 
arrangements for supper; and these rooms, like those above, were 
decorated with flowers, flags, busts, and various other graceful and ar- 
tistic objects. 

It is but an act of justice to mention that the perfection of all the ar- 
rangements is attributable solely to Mr. Mitchell, of Old Bond Street ; 
that gentleman having received a carte blanche from ‘Mr. Peabody, 
availed himself of such unrestricted license to furnish an entertainment 
so complete in its details and magnificent in its ensemble as rarely to 
have been equalled. 





We close this notice of our distinguished Townsman ‘with an extract 
from the Boston Post, of Sept. 19, 1851, furnished ‘to that paper by its 
intelligent correspondent in London :— 


It seems that two towns in Massachusetts contend ‘for the honor of 
the nativity of George Peabody, the eminent London merchant. ‘They 
may well do it. Danvers, with its old historic memories ; Salem, with 
its long line of distinguished men in the professions ‘and in trade ; even 
Essex County itself, full of the kernel of personal merit and renown in 
her citizens for two hundred years, have occasion to boastno accidental 
honor that is greater than that of having produced a man whose real 
goodness and greatness of heart are surpassed only ‘by the ‘modesty of 
his manners and the instructive quiet of his private life. It is rare/in 
our own country, that, without advantages of birth, or inheritance, or 
education, or public place, a simple minded, unobtrusive, ‘straight 





2038 


forward man, becomes, by the few means that commercial life gives, 
preéminent among his peers; and it is rarer still, that in another ¢oun- 
try, and that country famous for individual wealth, a man like this, 
among the merchant princes of that country’s metropolis, should rise 
to distinction. When such a case does occur, there is no reason why 
it should be concealed. That man’s character which is elevated by 
means of pure personal merit, becomes, by the strongest title, the 
property of the rising generation of his country, for their model and 
example. And such a man is Mr. George Peabody. 

Mr. Peabody has been a resident of London for many years. His 
business would be called that of banking in the United States; but in 
Great Britain, where trade divides into more minute ramifications, and 
every branch of it is classified, he is called a merchant, as are also 
Baring Bros. & Co., the Rothschilds, and other distinguished houses. 
The difference is simply that while these firms loan money, buy stocks, 
exchange, drafts, hold deposits, &c., they do not themselves pay out 
money, like the houses of Coates, and others, who are strictly bankers. 
You may always find him at his business during the hours devoted to 
it in London. He knows no such thing as-relaxation from it. At 104 
o’clock, every morning, you may notice him coming out from the Club 
Chambers, where he keeps bachelor’s hall, taking a seat in the passing 
omnibus, and riding some three miles to his office in Wanford Court, a 
dingy alley in Throgmorton Street ; and in that office, or near by, day 
after day, year in and out, you may be sure to find him, always cheer- 
ful, always busy, following the apostolic direction to the very letter, 
‘study to be quiet and do your own business.” 

In personal appearance Mr. Peabody logs more a professional than 
a business man. He is some six feet tall, erect, with a florid com- 
plexion, and a fine bold forehead. He may be past fifty years in age, 
though his appearance does not indicate it. He is ready, intelligent 
in no ordinary degree, copious in power of expressing his views, and 
truly sincere in everything which he does and says. In commercial 
phrase, he is preéminently a reliable man, showing neither to friends 
or enemies, under any circumstances, any phase of character which 
will not be found stable igsevery event. 

To his country, to her interests, her reputation, her honor and credit, 
it has been his pride ever to be true. A more thorough American, in 
heart, and soul, and sympathy, does not live. If he is known by any 
one characteristic above all others, it is this. While others have been 
flattered into lukewarmness towards our free institutions by the atten- 
tions of the aristocracy of the mother country, or, in the desire to gain 
the applause of the great, have acquiesced in those disparaging opin- 
ions which are common towards the United States among the advocates 
of monarchy, Mr. Peabody has always stood firm. In the peril of 
credit to state bonds, his opinion, frankly expressed upon ’change, and 
as freely acted upon in his counting-room, was better than bullion in 
the treasury. In the negotiation of state loans, when American securi- 
ties were blown upon in the market, his aid became an endorsement 
indubitable in its security to the buyer. In the advancement of Amer- 
ican interest, his energy never flags. When our ocean steamers, now 
the pride of every, sojourner from the states in Europe, needed encour- 





204 


agement in their enterprise, his capital was ready for the emergency. 
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Georgia, Delaware, each in its 
turn, was indebted to his sagacity. When the products of American 
industry, unprovided for by any congressional appropriation, were 
jeopardized for lack of funds to carry out the purposes of the contrib- 
utors, he was the one to step forward and advance the necessary loan. 
Perhaps in no former instance has Mr. Peabody’s love of country been 
exhibited in stronger relief. Every other nation had made provision 
for the expenses of its contributors. While the first opinion of the 
English public placed the productions of the United States in the rear 
of all others, he had the foresight to perceive that time only was need- 
ed to do us justice. He furnished the money, counselled courage, 
urged energy, conciliated difficulties, and gave his whole influence 
towards what he assured all his countrymen would be the result. The 
event has proved that he was not mistaken, and to him more than to 
any other man out of ‘the crystal palace is if due, that the honor of re- 
ceiving the GREAT MEDAL of the exhibition, not for mere handicraft, but 
for the only introduction of a new principle into the useful arts, has 
fallen upon the United States. 

Few men in London, whose attention has been exclusively devoted 
to commercial pursuits, have ever enjoyed a higher reputation than Mr. 
“Peabody. No other man could have assembled on the Fourth of July, 
with the stars and stripes decorating the hall, the aristocracy of Great 
Britain, to commemorate with Americans the birth-day of republican 
institutions. Honor to him who loves to honor his country! It is his 
intention, ere long, to return to the United States and spend the rest of 
his life. When he does so, while he will leave behind him an unsullied 


reputation, better than gold, he will find in his own country a welcome » 


which no common desert would gain. 


THE HALBARD OF LIEUT. FRANCIS PABODY. 


The committee have received from C. M. Endicott, Esq., of Salem, whose 
historical and antiquarian researches are already well known to the public, the 
following account of this interesting relic. It was communicated in reply to 
their application for a drawing of it for an engraving, and will be found to 
‘contain much curious information in relation to the rude instruments of war- 
fare used by our ancestors, and which are now wholly superseded by modern 
inventions. 

If space could be spared for the purpose, the committee would be glad to 


extract largely from the Account of the Peabody Family by the same hand, - 


but can only refer the reader to the Genealogical Register of 1848 and 1849, 
where it may be found. From this account it appears, by authentic records, 
‘that the name had its origin as far back as the time of Nero, in the 61st year 
of our era! 


Fircu Poors, Esq@., SaLem, November 22, 1852. 


My Dear Sir,—I send you a drawing of the ‘“ halbard” once borne by Lieut. 
Francis Pabody, who emigrated from St. Albans, England, to this country, in 
1635,—the year in which so large a number of the friends of religious liberty, 
by a simultaneous movement, determined to seek a refuge from civil and ecclesi- 
astical oppression on the bleak and inhospitable shores of New England, how- 
ever ‘ fiercely the wide ocean might open its mouth to swallow tiem, or with 
what terrors the wintry wilderness might threaten them.’ This movement re- 











205 


sulted, before the close of that year, in the emigration of some three thousand 
persons, and among this great number was Francis Pabody of St. Albans, the 
first American ancestor of Geo. Peabody, now of London, the liberal benefactor 
to your town, and also of all others in America who spell the name in this man- 
ner. I have no doubt whatever of the authenticity of this ancient relic, having 
in the course of my labors in ‘digging out the roots, and following out the 
branches of the old Peabody tree, traced the possession of it, as an heir-loom 
in the family, directly from Lieut. Francis down through the descendants of 
his fourth son Isaac to its present owrler, Col. Francis Peabody, of this city.* 

Our ancestors, when they left their native shores, brought away with them 
all such weapons as were in most general use in England at that period; and 
among others was the halbard or halbert, which must have been a formidable 
instrument when wielded by a skilful hand. It was in common use in the ar- 
my during the reign of Charles Ist, and consisted of a staff about five feet long, 
with a steel head partly in the form of a crescent. The word, according to 
Vossius, is derived from the German hallebaert, signifying an axe. It is said to 
have been first introduced into Scotland by the Danes, and carried by them 
upon the left shoulder; from whence it found its way into England, and finally 
into France during the reign of Louis ilth. The halbard, however, of the 
Danes was no doubt very different from the representation in the accompany- 
ing plate. From the period when first introduced by them to the time of Hen- 
ry 8th, and Louis 11th, it no doubt underwent many changes. The present 
crescent form is said to have been first introduced by Henry 2d of France, in 
compliment to Dianne of Poictiers, who chose the crescent for her device. 

In connection with the halbard it may not be amiss to speak of other imple- 
ments of war used during the 17th century. A foot soldier, at the time our 
ancestors left England, was equipped with a clumsy arquebuss, or match-lock mus- 
ket, supported on a forked staff, to enable him to point it at an enemy ; his body 
hung round with bandiliers, or little cylindrical wooden boxes, covered with leath- 
er, each containing one charge of powder for a musket. ‘Twelve of these were 
suspended to a belt worn over the left shoulder; and at the bottom of the belt, 
at the right hip, were hung the bullet bag and priming box; he was likewise 
encumbered with the match-line lighted at both ends; and also begirt with a 
long sword. The sergeants of foot and artillery carried halbards. The’ mus- 
ket-rests, after being used for upwards of a century in England, were finally 
laid aside during the civil wars which preceded the Protectorate. The long 
fowling-pieces, with “ bastard musket bore,” of five and half feet length, were 
also used at that period, and were sent over to this country by the advice of 
Endicott, who was a military man, immediately upon his arrival here, as ap- 
pears by his letter to the company of 13th September, 1628. Pikes and half 
pikes were also used in this country at that time; but the English long-bow 
does not appear to have been introduced here by our ancestors, although used 
in the artillery companies in England as late as 1643; and the exact time it 
was dispensed with cannot be accurately ascertained. 

The dress of a common soldier, in 1630, consisted of Monmouth caps, stiff 
ruffs of Queen Elizabeth’s time, called bands,—round-a-bout coats, reaching a 
little below the hips, and small clothes, gartered at the knee, and fastened in 


* Lieut. Francis Pabody at his death left his homestead, with all the goods and chattels 
it contained, to his fourth son Isaac, and among them was this halbard, Isaac’s son Isaac 
inherited the same after him. The last Isaac never married, and at his death his effects 
were divided among his brothers and sisters, and this halbard fell to his brother Matthew’s 
portion. From Matthew it descended to his son John, and from John again to his son John ; 
from the latter it descended to his son Joel R. Peabody, of Topsfield, of whom it was ob- 
tained by its present owner, who is also a descendant of Isaac. A wooden leg, said by 
tradition to have belonged to the first Isaac, was also handed down in the family of Matthew 
with this halbard, until the generation preceding Joel, when by some means the Jeg was lost, 
This tradition I have since found to be confirmed by the following clause in his father’s will : 
“ And this 1 would have noted, that I have left the more to my son Isaak, in consideration of 
the providence of God disinabling him by the loss of one of his legs.” 


206 


a large bow, or rosette, on one side; they also wore girdles, which performed 
the office of our modern suspenders. Over this dress, in cold weather, was 
sometimes thrown a loose sack, lined with cotton, and called mandilions, which 
covered the whole body, and was usually worn without sleeves. This gar- 
ment, mentioned among the articles to be sent over to New England 16th 
March, 1629, is thus described in the History of British Costume, p. 267: 


“Thus put he on his arming truss, fair shoes upon his feet, 
About hima mandilion, that did with buttons meet, 
Of purple, large and full of folds, eurl’d with a warmful nap, 
A garment that ’gainst cold in nights, did soldiers use to wrap.” 


A kind of armor called corsletis, which consisted of back and breast pieces,— 
tasses for the thighs,—gorgets for the neck,—and head pieces were also used 
by our ancestors in New England in their first encounters with the Indians ; 
but such armor, in England, was almost exclusively worn by the cavalry. The 
musketeer scarcely wore any other armor than morians to defend the legs. 

The introduction and use of artificial weapons is a very curious and at- 
tractive study; and were the subject in place here, which may be doubted, it 
would be impossible to do it justice in a short article like the present. Suffice 
it therefore to say, when first used they were supposed to be made of wood, 
and employed only against wild beasts. Arms of stone, and brass were next 
introduced, and these finally gave place to those of iron and steel. Bellus, the 
son of Nimrod, is imagined to have been the first to engage in wars with his 
kind, and used arms in battle; hence the appellation bellum. Josephus informs 
us that the patriarch Joseph first taught the use of arms in the Egyptian armies. 
The success of the Romans, in making themselves masters of the world, was 
supposed in a great measure to be owing to the superiority of their arms. 
When they first visited Britain the principal warlike weapons found among the 
aborigines were the dart, or javelin,—short spear with a ball at the end filled 
with brass, to the upper end of which was fixed a thong, that when used as a 
missile weapon it might be recovered and again used in a close encounter ;— 
long and broad swords without points, designed only for cutting, and were 
swung by a chain over the left shoulder,—occasionally a short dirk fixed in 
the girdle,—scythes, which were sometimes fastened to their chariot wheels. 
The Saxons, previously to their arrival in Britain, beside the buckler and dag- 
ger, used a sword bent in the form of a scythe, which their descendants soon 
changed for one that was long, straight and broad, double edged and pointed. 
Beside these the Saxon arms consisted of spears, axes and clubs. They fought 
with their swords and shields, similar to the Roman gladiators. Some altera- 
tion in the national arms of Great Britain took place on the arrival of the 
Danes; they appear to have brought the battle axe into more general use. 
The arms of the Norman foot soldiery at the time of the conquest were a 
spear, or a bow and arrow, or a sling, with a sword. From this time to the 
reign of Edward 2nd, the military weapons were but little altered. About this 
time we date the introduction of the English cross-bow, which rendered that 
nation, in one instance, superior to all the world. A great revolution took 
place in military weapons upon the discovery of gunpowder. The exact time 
gunpowder and fire arms were first used in war by the British nation is diffi- 
cult to be discovered, Fire arms of a portable construction were certainly not 
invented till the beginning of the 16th century. In 1521 the musket mounted 
ona stock was used in the siege of Parma, and probably soon adopted in 
England. From this period to the time our ancestors left their native country, 
improvements in fire arms appear to have been very slow and gradual, and we 
have seen what clumsy instruments they were at that period. But it is time 
to close this very imperfect article. It is a common failing with all antiqua- 
Tians to be both prolix and tedious, when they geta fair subject to operate upon. 
Hoping you will, however, exercise towards me a charity which endureth, 

I subscribe myself, yours, very truly, C. M. ENDICOTT. 








INDEX. 


Mr. Procror’s AppREss, - - - - pages 4 to 57 
b Specification of topics discussed, - - - 58 
Danvers, a Poem, by Dr. Nichols, - - - 59 
Apostrophe to Danvers, - . - - 59 
Description of Danvers as it is, - - - 61 
Danvers before its settlement by Europeans, - 62 
The Pilgrims, their cause and motives, - - 63 
Their arrival and settlement, - - 64 
A sketch of our Puritan ancestors, — - - 65 
Their occupations, &c., - - 69 
Sketches of life in Danvers 100 years ago, ~ 72 
‘9 The Eppes Family, - - - . 73 
Village Church, Worship, Pastor, and People, - 76 
Raisings, - - - - - ‘78 
Huskings, - - - - - MO 
Spinning Bees, - - - a - “80 
Biographical Sketches, _  - - - - ‘81 to 94 
Fathers of Danvers-port, - - - - 94 
George Peabody, of London, - - - 95 
Daniel P. King, - - - - - 96 
Danvers next Century,  - - - - 96 
Order of Arrangement of Procession, - - - 97 to 112 
. Order of Exercises at the Church, - - 112 to 114 
Remarks at the table, by Rev. M. P. Braman, - - 115 to 119 
“by _ his Excellency Gov. Boutwell, . - 119 to 121 
% by Mr. W. C. Endicott, of Salem, * - 121 to 124 
“ by Hen. C. W. Upham, of Salem, = - - 124 to 126 
“by Mr. A. Putnam, of Roxbury, - - 126 to 1380 
tf by Hon. J. G. Palfrey, of Cambridge, - - 130 to 132 
“by “Mr. A. A. Abbott, of Danvers, - - 132 to 136 
“« by Mr. G. G. Smith, of Boston, - - 186 to 140 
Letter from George Peabody, Esq., of London, - - 141 to 148 
Remarks by Mr. J. W. Proctor, - - - 148 to 144 
“ by Mr. P. R. Southwick, of Boston, - - 144 to 146 
“ by Hon. Judge White, va - - 146 to 148 


“by Hon. R.S. Daniels, - - - 148 to 150 





ii. HAAR 


ne 0112 061600950 


Remarks by Hu. A. Walker, of Boston, - pages 150 to 151 
) ad | || by) Rev. ‘Mr.\Thayer, of Beverly, - - 151 to 154 
bb Iie by Rey. Mr, Stone, of Providence,  - - 154 to, 159 
« | by Mr. W. D. Northend, of Salem, = - : 160 to 161 
“Eby dvev. OG: all, of Medfield,  - - 161 to 164 
eo bys Reve, WP utnay, of Middleborough, - 165 to 167 
: by Rev. Je Felt a4 Boston; - - 167 to 171 






« by Mr. & P. Fowler, of Danvers, - - 171 to 172 

4 by HomvyL. Eaton, of Sonth Reading) 6253 oe 172 

“  oby Mt J. Webster, of Now Market, - - 173 to 176 ~ 

a by Rev. F. Py Appleton, of Danvers, - - 176 to 177 

. by Dr. E. Hunt, 6f ‘Danvers, - - 177 to 178 
TRtter of Hon. R. C. Winthrop, - - - 178 to 179 

“ of Hon. J.H. Duncan, - - - or 179 

of ‘Rev. T. P. Field, - - ~ - 179 to 180 

“ of Hon. R. Choate, Z - # wie, 180 

of doa. Re Rentoul, Jr, > - - veh 180) bas ee 

“ of Hon. Daniel'Webster, ——- é te 181 

** of Hon. James Savage, - - ~ pm SQ) Gt ano ge 

“ of Hon. Edward Everett, % - lea’ 182 eh ‘f 
Giles Corey’s Dream, - - - a hye BB ay ieee ee . 
A Visit from Parson Parris, - - - - 185 to 186 el 
Original Songs and Hymns, - - - - 186 to 188 # 
Exercises at the School Pavilion, - e - 188 to 190 

- Action of the Town on the Peabody Donation, - : 191 to 192 

Notice of Mr. Peabody, - - - - 193 to 204 


Halbard of Lieut. Francis Pabody, - . - 204 to 206 





